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His efforts paid off eventually. On July 11, 1893, with his wife Ume, he discovered a beautiful pearl in one of his
oysters. He never looked back since. By the time he died in 1954, the highly
honored Mikimoto had successfully
advocated and promoted cultured pearls and opened markets all over the world.
Today, his name is synonymous to the highest quality cultured pearls.

When thinking of an Akoya cultured pearl necklace, pearl admirers know that
Mikimoto Kokichi is widely considered the father of modern pearl jewelry. Born
in Mie prefecture, Japan,
to an udon noodle shop owner, Mikimoto had humble beginnings. It is thought
that while Mikimoto was working as a teenager selling vegetables to help
support his family, he first noticed pearls as divers would unload their
treasures by the docks.

In 1888, to address the overharvesting of the pearl producing oysters near
his home, Mikimoto and his wife, Ume, began in
earnest trying to cultivate pearls. After many setbacks, Mikimoto was able to
create a hemispherical, cultured pearl in 1893. Three years later, he
introduced the half spherical pearls at an exposition in Norway.
However, it was not until 1916 and receiving a patent that Mikimoto was able to
produce round pearls. To further expand, he later purchased the rights to the
Mise-Niskikawa method of producing round pearls, which had been a competing
technique introduced around 1907.

However, probably his most lasting impact on the modern cultured pearl, is
perfecting the technique of using round nuclei cut from American freshwater
mussels. This method has been an industry production standard for cultured
pearl necklaces for the past 90 years.

What to
Know When Buying

Mikimoto once was quoted as saying his dream was "to adorn the necks of
all the women of the world with pearls." He has come close. With
inspiration drawn from his classic Akoya cultured pearl necklace, pearl
producers have replicated it many times over around the world. Although a
Mikimoto pearl strand can be purchased in varying sizes and qualities, Mikimoto
pearl strands are known to have good luster and thick nacre.

Designing beautiful jewelry was almost as big of a passion for Mikimoto as the pearls themselves. As
his pearls began to make a name for themselves around the world, Mikimoto began
to share his treasure with aristocrats everywhere. It wasn't until after a
member of the Imperial household however took pearls as gifts to the Count of
St. James that Mikimoto really began to focus on his jewelry designs. In 1906,
he opened the first jewelry store that specialized in pearls. His store and
designs quickly gained worldwide attention.

Mikimoto is credited with the not only the creation of a fine, high quality
cultured jewels but also for making them accessible to people all over the
world. Before Mikimoto came along with his Akoyas, this gemstone was somewhat
of a luxury only worn by the members of highest society. For centuries, pearls
represented a person's status in the world and some countries even banned lower
class people from wearing the gemstone at all. By creating a high quality,
beautiful cultured nacred gem, Mikimoto
was able to mass produce pearls, therefore making them more affordable for
people from every walk of life.