Mikimoto. Pearl Excellence
Coco Chanel would rarely be seen in public without them. One of Jacqueline Kennedy’s famous style rules was that they were always called for. And you must remember Audrey Hepburn’s iconic look from Breakfast at the Tiffany’s: the long gloves, the tight little black dress and… the pearls. A synonym of style and elegance, pearls are employed not just by glam rock fans of the day, but also by incorrigible romantics. But did you know that the most luxurious kind of pearls originated in the nineteenth-century Japan?
Today Mikimoto means pearls of the highest quality. The Japanese brand follows the rule of zero tolerance for imperfection and adheres to it with extreme strictness. You want an example? In 1932, they didn’t bat an eye to publicly burn thousands of pearls that had not passed Mikimoto’s restrictive scrutiny. All that to prove how crucial perfection and flawless beauty of their product is. The legend of the Japanese brand began over 120 years ago. It started with a vision of one man, an aesthete with an aptitude for science, Kokichi Mikimota.
pic. https://www.mikimotoamerica.com
Japanese determination
Japan, 1854. After 220 years of isolation, the country finally opened up to the outside world. This extraordinary event resulted in an array of consequences, but the flourishing of trade and interest in local products is crucial to the history of Mikimoto pearls. Kokichi Mikimoto’s hometown, Toba, was famous for its beautiful natural pearls. However, the huge demand made them increasingly less available as years went by, and local oysters became in danger of extinction. Concerned about their condition, Mikimoto resolved to find a way to create pearls in controlled conditions, without harming nature. And although no one believed that it would be possible (even the famous Tomas Edison said that about the Japanese idea), in 1893 Mikimoto became the first man to grow a pearl. It wasn’t quite the ideal we associate with the brand today, but it was undoubtedly a stunning success at the price of many failures. Mikimoto had tried many times, not allowing himself to be distracted by the failures: predatory octopus attacks or the bacteria that nearly devastated his oysters and ruined his plans.
Legendary Perfection
Fortunately, other than a flawless taste and a passion for perfection, Mikimoto was also resolute about pursuing his goal. His first success inspired him to keep going. On Ojima Island (today known as the Island of Pearls) he created the first pearl culture and spent years perfecting his technology; expanding the range to include the stunning black South Sea (Tahitian) pearl or work on the intriguing conch pearls. After he opened his first flagship store in Tokyo in 1899, luxury Mikimoto boutiques appeared internationally in Paris, London, New York, Shanghai and many other cities. Mikimoto didn’t just focus on farming pearls. He also took greatest care to build the brand. During exhibitions or fairs, he would awe with the grand scale of his creations. During the 1926 World Exhibition, he presented a pagoda embellished with 12,000 perfect pearls; and in 1939 in New York he used them to cover the Liberty Bell. Admittedly, Kokichi Mikimoto knew how to create a legend. Despite the fact that the father of cultured pearls died almost 70 years ago, his empire continues to this day and is doing great. Mikimoto continues to equal topmost quality and uncompromised beauty. It is a brand that knows perfectly well how to bring out pearls’ beauty, and that pearls look their most beautiful on a woman’s neck. Kokichi himself once said that his dream is to adorn the necks of all women in the world with pearls. We would not mind if it came true.
pic. https://www.mikimotoamerica.com
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main photos: instagram.com/official_mikimoto
