Our master craftsmen demonstrate their skills and expertise with a passion
In 1907, The Mikimoto Gold Work Factory (today's Mikimoto Jewellery Mfg. Co., Ltd.) was established as a dedicated manufacturing facility for the Mikimoto Pearl Store. There, our team of craftsmen honed their skills, mastering sophisticated techniques such as millegraining, keshi pearl beadwork, and piercing out with a saw. Thanks to their passion and commitment to their craft, Mikimoto made a name for itself as a producer of fine jewellery that could rival the best pieces from the West.
Our jewellery designers inherit the tradition of jewellery making with a history of over a century
At Mikimoto, all new jewellery designers start with tracing the drawings of existing products to learn the fundamentals. In this way, they learn and inherit our tradition of jewellery making with their bodies. Once the most promising drafts are selected, our designers paint them using fine-point brushes and traditional Japanese ink, followed by watercolor paints and colored pencils to create light and shadow. After a lot of hard work, we finally have finalized designs that look so real that it seems you can reach out and touch it.
The Mikimoto Style
Our founder Kokichi Mikimoto was aware of the importance of design before anyone else in Japan. He sent skilled craftsmen to Europe to learn the latest design techniques and styles in jewellery, including Art Deco and Art Nouveau. Using the experience and knowledge they brought back from Europe, he spent decades blending traditional Japanese metalworking craftsmanship and European manufacturing techniques to create the distinctive Mikimoto style.
Encapsulating the iconic Mikimoto style, Yaguruma Sash Clip
Exhibited at the 1937 World Exposition in Paris, Yaguruma Sash Clip is a multifunctional adornment that can be in 12 different configurations. It is an elegant combination of Art Deco and Japanese aesthetics, making use of finishes and decorative techniques that had been developed and refined at Mikimoto. (Courtesy of Museum of the Pearl Museum, Mikimoto Pearl Island.)
Mikimoto's catalog, "Pearl," tells us how Mikimoto defined its style
Mikimoto published Pearl between 1908 and 1938. The catalog was compiled o showcase the history and culture of accessories from a comprehensive perspective. It gained attention for its daring, experimental design, and fresh perspective. Design sketches that appeared in the catalog show how Mkimoto’s jewellery design had changed over the years. All the issues are archived at Mikimoto as important historical documents.