In 1899 in Tokyo’s Ginza district, Mikimoto opened his first, eponymous store in a white-stone building reminiscent of the color of pearls. He quickly earned a reputation for dazzling designs that blended Japanese craftsmanship and European influence. Mikimoto sent his jewelers to Europe to study...
Kokichi Mikimoto was the eldest son of a family that ran a noodle shop in Toba. He left school at 15 and sold vegetables to help support the family, and later got involved in a venture to raise pearl oysters near Bentenjima. He eventually created the first cultured pearl in the world on...
and later got involved in a venture to raise pearl oysters near Bentenjima. He eventually created the first cultured pearl in the world on what is now called Pearl Island in 1893. The first cultured pearls were half pearls