I respect Kokichi Mikimoto. The man was amazing. What he did for this industry is unlike anything anyone has done since. He created the industry. Every individual segment of the cultured pearl industry can trace its roots back to Mikimoto and his tremendous marketing efforts to promote cultured pearls as the skookum alternative to naturals.But I disagree with the following statements on the Mikimoto Web site.
“In 1893, Kokichi Mikimoto successfully produced the world's first cultured pearl. Through mastery, aesthetics and a consuming dream to dress the world in pearls, Kokichi Mikimoto made cultured pearls one of the world's foremost and most prevalent fashion accessories.”
Come on Mikimoto folks! Really? Mikimoto really produced the world’s first cultured pearl in 1893? What a load of crap!
In 1893, Mikimoto successfully produced cultured blister pearls. But the technique was already 600 years old! In fact, Kunz and Stevenson credit Yu Shun Yang for founding the blister pearl industry in China in the 13th century. Mikimoto used their same, old technique.
Further, Mikimoto got the bead-and-tissue-piece method of culturing whole pearls from Nishikawa and Mise, who, in turn, almost certainly got it from William Saville-Kent in Australia.
So, actually, Mikimoto originated neither blister or whole pearl culture. What he did do, however, was found an industry through his perseverance and marketing prowess. That is what he deserves the accolades for.
Stop rewriting history and appreciate who he was and what he actually did!
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4 comments:
I know about perliculture history and the Chinese are the originator.
But I am here for a very important question.
1. Which pearl do you think is most beautiful? Pure white or pinkish white?
2. They said that golden South Sea pearls are the rarest but why is it that white South Sea pearls are more expensive?
3. When it comes to natural pearls. Which color is highest prized and which color is the rarest?
Good questions!
1. In my opinion, white pearls with pink overtones are the more beautiful than pure white pearls.
2. White South Sea pearls are generally more expensive than golden for a few reasons. The first is the industry control. Paspaley is largely responsible for keeping the price of white South Sea pearls high and stable. He does this by controlling more than half of Australia’s output. Further, golden South Sea pearls are rarely gold. More often than not, a large portion of a golden harvest will be predominantly yellow. Yellow is not considered a highly-valued color.
I will add, however, that a perfect, deep-gold strand would be more valuable than a white.
3. The most valuable natural pearls were once referred to as “Dana”. These were perfect pearls larger than 7 mm. The most highly-prized color was “abyadh”, or white.
That is a beautiful answer and I learn something beautiful today! You really know your stuff.
Now I will look at Golden South Sea pearls quite differently now. Especially the ones with a deep golden color. And I agree that most yellow pearls have been sold as golden pearls and I have known that yellow pearls are 30% less priced than whites.
But what is the difference between rosy white, or pinkish white pearls? Or how does a light pink pearl would really look like? They said that light pink pearls are the highest prized.
Mikimoto has been defrauding the public for a 100 years and the GIA calls that credibility. Of course, that may have something to do with the fact that the Mikimoto company basically owns the GIA pearl program and the GIA is proud of that (see JCK magazine)! How can the GIA claim to perpetuate any kind of consumer interest standard and then publicly proclaim how proud they are to have gotten the Mikimoto endowment (with prescribed course work on how to identify and value Mikimouse clasps)? Have they entirely lost their marbles? If we lowly consumers cry loud enough that we do not want pearl plated beads for a fortune, maybe someday there will be a market shift. Until then boykott is probably our only option.
I give all akoyas that are pushed upon me to my
daughter's school that regularly holds fundraisers to pay for its wonderful music program. With all those worshippers of the Pearl Plated Beast around, I think it is a good way to dispose of them in an environmentally friendly way (they will get worn off on Republican necks).
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