The MIKIMOTO brand and its founder, Mr. Kokichi Mikimoto, successfully cultivated semi-circular pearls in 1893, taking the first step in pearl cultivation in Japan and becoming the first person in the world to successfully cultivate pearls.
When talking about Akoya pearls, we have to mention the MIKIMOTO brand and its founder, Mr. Kokichi Mikimoto. Kokichi was born on January 25, 1858 in Toba Town, Shima Province. His hometown, Ise Shima, is rich in natural pearls, but the number of AKOYA oysters living in the local ocean has been decreasing year by year due to overfishing. Therefore, Kokichi decided to protect AKOYA oysters, carry out artificial breeding, and then realize the artificial breeding of pearls (the starting point of those who achieve great things is really selfless and grand, not for making money). After experiencing several crises of red tide damage and capital depletion, he finally overcame many difficulties. In 1893 (when we were still Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty), Kokichi Mikimoto became the world’s first person to successfully cultivate pearls. He experimented with mother-of-pearl oysters. After countless failures, he finally successfully cultivated semi-circular pearls in 1893, taking the first step in Japanese pearl farming.
Before that, pearls could only be collected from natural oysters, and most of them were pearls without nuclei, and the harvest was extremely unstable. However, Kokichi started by cultivating AKOYA oysters, inserting nuclei into pearls by human hands for the first time, which continued the vitality of pearls and opened a new chapter in the history of modern pearl development. Later, he successfully cultivated spherical pearls in 1905 and challenged black South Sea pearls and white South Sea pear
Mother of Pearl
Mother of Pearl At that time, in order to obtain round pearls, many people constantly challenged the cultivation technology. However, only three people, Kokichi Mikimoto, Tengkichi Nishikawa, and Tatsuhei Miso, succeeded. In 1907, the three of them cultivated round pearls almost at the same time. Why did Mikimoto monopolize this fame later? I think it was because of the fame he gained from promoting cultured pearls in the international market.
In 1910, when Mikimoto first entered the overseas pearl market, jewelers in Paris and London threatened that Mikimoto’s pearls were “fake”. But Mr. Mikimoto did not give up promoting it. After more than 10 years of hard work, Mikimoto won the “Paris Pearl Trial” in 1924. Thus, cultured pearls finally gained international recognition. Since then, Japan’s culture technology has traveled across the oceans and has been widely used in various seawater pearl culture around the world, in addition to mother-of-pearl pearls (i.e. AKOYA pearls), there are also black lipped oyster pearls and white lipped oyster pearls.
——Color and size of Akoya pearls
Pearls are organic gems, mainly found in pearl oysters and mother-of-pearl oysters. Geological and archaeological studies have shown that pearls existed on Earth 200 million years ago. The international gem industry also lists pearls as the lucky stone for June birthdays and the commemorative stone for the 13th and 30th wedding anniversaries. Pearls, with their gorgeous colors and elegant temperament, symbolize health, purity, wealth and happiness, and have been loved by people since ancient times. Pearls are divided into two types: freshwater pearls and seawater pearls.
AKOYA Pearl When buying pearls, size, roundness and pearly luster are the key points. “70% is a pearl, 80% is a treasure”, “10% roundness is 10% money”, generally pearls below 6mm are not included in the category of jewelry-grade pearls, 7-9mm is generally popular among consumers, 10mm pearls are rare, and only South Sea pearls and black pearls can be found above 11mm. The higher the size, the rarer the quantity, and the price often doubles.
AKOYA Pearl AKOYA pearls grow in waters with large temperature differences between cold and warm, so they have a unique delicate texture and round luster.
AKOYA PEARLS The production of white butterfly pearls (i.e. white pearls) from Australia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Myanmar is also on the rise. Although white butterfly pearls from different origins are all white in color, they vary in size and color; although they are all nucleus pearls, the diameter of AKOYA is generally 3 to 10 mm, and most are between 6 and 9 mm, while the diameter of white pearls from other origins is generally about 9 to 18 mm, and the diameter of black Tahitian pearls is greater than 8 to 17 mm; AKOYA pearls have a fine texture, and “high quality, small quantity, and stable price” are the fundamental reasons why Japanese AKOYA pearls attract consumers.
——Pearl certificate from Japan Pearl Science Research Institute
The certificates for Aurora TEN-NYO, Aurora Hanadama, Zhenduoma and ordinary Akoya pearls that you can buy are all issued by this institution. The industry generally refers to it as a “real scientific research certificate”. There will be a logo in the certificate to indicate the type of pearl. The Pearl Science Research Institute of Japan has specially designated a set of scientific testing standards for “Aurora TEN-NYO“, which is called “TERI”. – First, place the pearl above a dark field light source, illuminate the “lower hemisphere” of the pearl with a special band of fluorescence, and then use a special optical instrument to observe the interference of the “upper hemisphere” of the pearl to ensure that a true color reaction is displayed. Then input the color and saturation into the system, establish a three-dimensional coordinate system, and determine its level after the system automatically balances the values. According to GIA (Jewelry Institute of America), the diameter of akoya pearls is 2-11 mm, and most of them are between 6-8 mm. However, in the pearl market, beads are measured in units of 0.5, such as 7-7.5mm.
The term “Aurora Hanadama” is used in the pearl industry to refer specifically to “the highest quality Akoya raw pearls that have just been taken out of the mother shell and have not yet been processed.” These round, flawless, lustrous white pearls with a slightly pink hue account for approximately 3% of the total Akoya pearl production.
Aurora Hanadama
If a pearl wants to obtain a Aurora TEN-NYO certificate, it needs to be sent to PEARL SCIENCE LABORATORY for two appraisals. The first is to identify it as a Aurora Hanadama, and the second is to prove that it is the best among the flower beads, that is, the “Aurora TEN-NYO“. Therefore, the appraisal fee is also doubled, which is about RMB 800-1000. If a merchant wants to forge, he will not be willing to spend this appraisal fee. However, a single naked pearl cannot be rated as a Tiannv. A “Aurora TEN-NYO” is a Aurora Hanadama that meets the special interference color. It cannot be called a “Aurora TEN-NYO” without an appraisal certificate.
