Kokichi Mikimoto is the genius behind Mikimoto jewelry. The Japanese artisan was born in 1858 and began supporting his family financially a short 11 years later. It was not until 1878 that he set up a pearl judging contest and recognized the poor quality of the products that even respected jewelry makers brought to the table. From this time on, he devoted his energy and resources to perfecting the cultivation of pearls.
Focusing on Akoya oysters as vessels for growing the layers of nacre that make the pearls, Mikimoto suffered a number of setbacks. Octopi would eat his oysters after he had already introduced particles into the animals to begin the pearl-forming process. Red tides killed numerous specimens. It was not until 1893 that his efforts finally showed success. By 1896, he was granted a patent for his cultured pearls.
Rather than resting on his laurels, Mikimoto continued his work to perfect the cultivation of the pearls. Extending his operations to the waters of Okinawa, he now took on the cultivation of a South Sea pearl.
Kokichi Mikimoto opened his very first pearl boutique in 1899. Setting up shop in Tokyo’s fashionable Ginza, the quality and size of the pearls soon made him a household name. Skillful artisans incorporated the pearls into a wide variety of jewelry designs. Before long, he expanded his business to Paris, London and other big cities across the world. Participating in London’s Anglo-Japanese Fair in 1910, he introduced many non-jewelry shoppers to his designs by displaying a fan and screen studded with pearls.
By 1926, he attended the World’s Fair and displayed a pagoda with pearls in a platinum setting. Thirteen yeas later, he displayed a pearl model of the Liberty Bell. As his international clientele grew, he never neglected his Japanese audience. Mikimoto’s name had already become synonymous with luxury jewelry but would eventually become inexorably tied to the elegant pearl jewelry pieces that royalty wore.
Although Kokichi Mikimoto died in 1954, his brand lived on. In the same year, Joe DiMaggio gave a 16-inch Mikimoto necklace to Marilyn Monroe. In 1969, the brand won the DeBeers Diamonds International Awards, which cemented the brand name in the jewelry design industry. Opening a variety of stores over the decades, the year 2001 marked the release of the Princess Grace collection. It featured the famous Monaco rose and combined pearls with precious stones in intricate designs.
By 2002, the Mikimoto Company became involved in the manufacture of the crowns for the Miss Universe, Miss Teen USA and Miss USA contests. Using white South Sea as well as cultured Akoya pearls and striking diamonds, the crowns were masterpieces. In 2006, the company brought its crown-making designs of the Pasadena Tournament of Roses parade. While remaining highly visible in international and national pageantry events, Mikimoto never lost sight of the importance of perfection in the smaller jewelry pieces that were created for the retail market.
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