| 2008
Marks the 150th Anniversary of the Birth of Kokichi Mikimoto, the
Pearl King |
January 2008 marks
the 150th anniversary of the birth of Koichi Mikimoto. Eventually
known the world over as the Pearl King. Kokichi Mikimoto persevered
through trials and hardships and successfully invented a method
for culturing pearls. An invention that amazed thefamedThomas Edison,
Kokichi's development of cultured pearls in the late 19th century
brought Japanese jewellery to the attention of the world. An intrepid
pioneer who brooked no compromise in his pursuit of beauty, Kokichi
Mikimoto devoted his entire life to pearls.
Dedicated to the realisation
of our founder's lifelong dream 'to adorn the necks of all the women
of the world with pearls/ MIKIMOTO makes it possible for people
all over the world to experience the subtle elegance of pearls.
Our wish is simple: to
convey the beauty of Japan's unique culture and preserve for future
generations the bounty of nature that nurtures our precious pearls.
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First
Person in the World to Produce a Culturing Pearl Success
in Culturing a Semi-Spherical Pearl
In
1893, after years of setbacks, Kokichi Mikimoto with
the support of his family and wife Ume succeeded in
culturing a semi-spherical pearl. He had pledged himself
to protect and raise stocks of akoya pearl oysters,
depleted at the time by overtishing and to grow parls
with these pearl oysters. Many long years were spent
in what were, from the outset, trail-and-error experiments,
viewed with intense public skepticism.
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| A. Red algae blooms (red tide) B.
Long-held Hope (Masayoshi Ise) Kokichi Mikimoto and his wife
Ume, in a painting produced to commorate the 85" anniversary
of the invention of cultured pearls. Oil painting held at Mikimoto
Pearl Island. |
Only
his famly stood by him. Plagued by financial difficulties
and repeated damage from red algae blooms, Mikimoto overcame
the odds and at least succeeded in culturing a pealr at Ojima
Island (now known as Mikimoto Pealr Island) at Toba. This
defining moment marked the first time in world that a pearl
had been produced from a pearl oyster by human intervention.
This achievement formed the foundation of today's MIKIMOTO. |
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Success in Culturing a Spherical Pearl;
Meeting with Inventor Thomas Edison
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It
took Kokichi another decade or more of hard work until he
succeeded in producing a perfectly round pearl and became
known throughout the world as the inventor of cultured pearls.
In 1927, during a tour of Europe and the United States,
Kokichi had the opportunity to meet Thomas Edison, visiting
him at his home in New York. Admiring the Mikimoto pearl
that Kokichi presented to him, Edison declared, "This
isn't a cultured pearl, It's a real yearly. There are two
things which couldn't be made at my laboratory -diamonds
and pearls. It is one of the wonders of the world that you
were able to culture pearls. It is something which issupposed
to be biologically impossible." The meeting was reported
in the New York Times, and Mikimoto pearls became a household
name almost overnight. |
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| Left : Kokichi Mikimoto in 1927,
the year of his meeting with Thomas Edison. Middle:Letter
that Edison sent to Kokichi, indicative of the bond between
the two inventors. Right: Thomas Edison. |
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