Founded in 1893, Mikimoto accomplished a significant milestone when Kokichi Mikimoto successfully developed the inaugural cultured pearl. Throughout the past century, their commitment to providing exceptional, top-tier jewelry has remained unwavering.
Kokichi Mikimoto, founder of Mikimoto, became globally renowned as the “King of Pearls” after successfully culturing the world’s first semi-spherical pearl in 1893 that even impressed the legendary inventor Thomas Edison. Driven by his unwavering pursuit of beauty, Kokichi devoted his entire life to cultured pearls and brought Japanese jewelry to the international stage. Perpetuating the founder’s dream to adorn every woman’s neck with pearls, Mikomoto has been presenting pearl masterpieces that highlight the elegance of the women. Their wish is to convey the beauty of Japan’s unique culture and to preserve nature’s timeless treasure – pearls – for future generations.
Completely devoted to producing top-quality Akoya pearls, Kokichi was not deterred by the repeated trials and setbacks or huge losses caused by natural constraints like seawater temperature difference or red tides. His perseverance enabled him to develop a more effective pearl cultivation method that has greatly influenced the development of the industry in Japan.
Kokichi had made numerous contributions to Japan’s pearl industry and overseas economic development at different stages, from the initial exploration and building of pearl farms to discovering the cultivation method of black-lip and silver-lip pearls. His innovative and adventurous spirit continues to inspire the MIKIMOTO team today. Kokichi participated in various collaborative projects with the Japanese government and universities (such as the Fukuoka project and the Kyushu University project). A pearl oyster farm was built on Ainoshima Island in the Genkai Sea as the pearl culturing base that has a significant impact on the future development of the industry.
