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Mikimoto Pearls in box with pamphlet

Tinkybell

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With much encouragement from some of you, I have spent some time on the pearl threads this afternoon. All my life, I was told that Mikimoto pearls were just cheap cultured pearls ,considered to be in the costume department of pearls. I went back to my pearl shelf in my safe, where I pulled a box of Mikimoto Pearls out,with original pamphlet inside.I scratched my tooth on one of them and they were gritty, so I am assuming cultured pearl.Pamphlet says Cultured ,so....I read on here that they can be expensive.Have I been misinformed?Posting pictures.There is not a gold clasp but an M on the back of the clasp. These are family hand me downs and I am not sure why they are here since my Grandmother considered them cheap .I forgot I had these. I don't think they have ever been worn.
 

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Tinkybell

Shiny_Rock
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Just went to Ebay and apparently they are a thing.
 

Tinkybell

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Haha. They have been locked up their whole life .I have other strands I wear. These literally were in her costume jewelry section, along with her silver paste pieces.
 
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Bron357

Ideal_Rock
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Mikimoto pearls are cultured pearls. The vintage ones are often of lovely quality and are quite collectible. Keep the box and the paperwork, collectors want these as well!
Obviously they aren’t “up there” with natural pearls but the vast majority of pearl strands “Out there” are “cultured” and certainly Mikimoto pearls are well above a “costume jewellery” rating.
 

Tinkybell

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Thank you Bron357. I thought they were all the way costume and in the Trifari/Coro type category. I will keep it together, as it has been for years. Any idea how old these are?
 

Daisys and Diamonds

Super_Ideal_Rock
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i had no idea Mikimoto's were viewed as costume
Mr Mikimoto Kokichi was a very clever man and pioneered pearl farming
his company's pearls are beautiful and very pricy and not sold in the mall jewlers in NZ, but rather the kind of stores where they don't show the price tag
 

Tinkybell

Shiny_Rock
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i had no idea Mikimoto's were viewed as costume
Mr Mikimoto Kokichi was a very clever man and pioneered pearl farming
his company's pearls are beautiful and very pricy and not sold in the mall jewlers in NZ, but rather the kind of stores where they don't show the price tag

I had just been told that growing up. I am not sure why that was the case. Until I went to the pearl threads on here today ,I believed they were costume. I am very glad I know differently now.Maybe my Grandmother perceived cultured pearls differently than natural.I do wish she were here to ask.
 

Daisys and Diamonds

Super_Ideal_Rock
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I had just been told that growing up. I am not sure why that was the case. Until I went to the pearl threads on here today ,I believed they were costume. I am very glad I know differently now.Maybe my Grandmother perceived cultured pearls differently than natural.I do wish she were here to ask.

Well now you got a brand new strand from your grandma
how old would she have been ?
my grandad faught in ww2 in the Pacific war and he would not allow a Japanese made thing in the house

I kind of always hoped that mum's pearls were Mikimotos ...but saddly i don't think they are

You know Queen Alexandra of the UK, Empress of India, Queen if NZ etc (daughter in law to Queen Victoria, dsughter of the King of Denmark ) wore a lot of fake pearls with her real ones so i guess one just never knows what is fake and what is real sometimes

But i hope its been a pleasant surprise to find out your pearls are indeed great pearls

Im sure alot of the Japanese royal family jewels feature Mikimoto pearls and they wear the most beautiful pearls

Sorry i don't spell good enough to have much luck with the Japanese royal ladies so Queen Alexandra will have to do
I don't know if any of those are fake but i would think her real ones would have been natural back then ? And it looks a very offical regal sort of portrait so probably all real
 

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Pearlescence

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Cultured or farmed pearls are cheaper than natural or wild pearls. That's certainly true.
But there is a also a lot of snobbishness and misconception about pearls out there.
I once overheard someone browsing some pearls 'Oh those are just freshwater pearls.You don't want them. I have some real cultured pearls at home.'
Mikimoto commercialised akoya pearl farming back in the 1930s and gradually pearls became affordable to more than the very rich upper classes. Mikimoto pearls are still considered a formidable brand and their top quality pearls are truly superb (and expensive).
Even now, with freshwater pearls making up most of the farmed pearls available today, Mikimoto are considered top rank, and most certainly not costume.
 

Tinkybell

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Well now you got a brand new strand from your grandma
how old would she have been ?
my grandad faught in ww2 in the Pacific war and he would not allow a Japanese made thing in the house

I kind of always hoped that mum's pearls were Mikimotos ...but saddly i don't think they are

You know Queen Alexandra of the UK, Empress of India, Queen if NZ etc (daughter in law to Queen Victoria, dsughter of the King of Denmark ) wore a lot of fake pearls with her real ones so i guess one just never knows what is fake and what is real sometimes

But i hope its been a pleasant surprise to find out your pearls are indeed great pearls

Im sure alot of the Japanese royal family jewels feature Mikimoto pearls and they wear the most beautiful pearls

Sorry i don't spell good enough to have much luck with the Japanese royal ladies so Queen Alexandra will have to do
I don't know if any of those are fake but i would think her real ones would have been natural back then ? And it looks a very offical regal sort of portrait so probably all real

My Grandmother was born in 1911, I have no idea how old these pearls are are ,no zip code on paperwork, but they were in her jewelry box for as long as I can remember They are newer than most pieces I have from my Grandmothers.I was born in late 1960's ,so by the time I could play in her jewelry box,it was in the 1970's. .Both of my Granddads fought in both WW1 and WWII and were about 12 years older than she was. My other Grandmother was also older, born in 1900 and left me many beautiful pieces from Europe. Maybe the Japanese affiliation prevented her from being fond of them. I am glad to know they are not costume. I wear two other strands, one I can double and wear with a brooch in center and one that is not graduated ,like these are.They too could be cultured ,I have no clue. I do love pearls.Thanks for all the info.
 

Tinkybell

Shiny_Rock
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Apr 29, 2020
Messages
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Cultured or farmed pearls are cheaper than natural or wild pearls. That's certainly true.
But there is a also a lot of snobbishness and misconception about pearls out there.
I once overheard someone browsing some pearls 'Oh those are just freshwater pearls.You don't want them. I have some real cultured pearls at home.'
Mikimoto commercialised akoya pearl farming back in the 1930s and gradually pearls became affordable to more than the very rich upper classes. Mikimoto pearls are still considered a formidable brand and their top quality pearls are truly superb (and expensive).
Even now, with freshwater pearls making up most of the farmed pearls available today, Mikimoto are considered top rank, and most certainly not costume.
Pearlescence, thank you.I love all pearls and I am happy I discovered that the Mikimoto's are not costume.I have some freshwater pearls as well and I wear them.My favorite jewelry combo is pearls with diamonds.They are so very soft and feminine.
 

AV_

Ideal_Rock
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They too could be cultured ,I have no clue. I do love pearls.

It would be interesting to know if they are natural, not least because the market has never forgotten the difference natural/cultured & prices are very different. GIA can tell.

The early Mikimoto strand is intriguing too - pearl culture has changed over time & older fine pieces are not common at all.

It is a pleasure to hear about these things!
 

Tinkybell

Shiny_Rock
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With all the paperwork I suspect the Mikimoto company could give you a rough date - though that leaflet doesn't look very old

I just went back and read the pamphlet ,so yes,I would agree with Elizabeth35.Early 1950's is my guess.In the meantime,I went through some more things in the safe and found some baby jewelry items that are so sweet. Lots of little dress pins/buttons with gemstones all in gold ,strands of baby/child pearls,little gold bangles and baby rings .One little strand of pearls has a little gold piece in the center , with rubies and diamonds.I also found a pair of buckle bangles that I sent a picture of to my jeweler and she said they are Victorian wedding bangles.Having lots of fun going through this stuff.
 

Tinkybell

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Apr 29, 2020
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It would be interesting to know if they are natural, not least because the market has never forgotten the difference natural/cultured & prices are very different. GIA can tell.

The early Mikimoto strand is intriguing too - pearl culture has changed over time & older fine pieces are not common at all.

It is a pleasure to hear about these things!
AV_,you asked about the pearl necklace and Lykame asked about other things and here I am learning new things and getting lots of advice from very nice people on here. I would not have come to the pearl thread without you all advising me to.I will post the other two necklaces below.Thank you.
 
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Tinkybell

Shiny_Rock
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20200628_185911.jpg The 1st strand is super long.Gold and pearl clasp.
20200628_185843.jpg The second is normal length and a platinum and diamond clasp dated 1930.These ae the two strands I swear the most.
 

AV_

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I would guess the pearls are much younger than the clasps & anything but natural, i.e. fine pearls, not treasure www, www
 
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Daisys and Diamonds

Super_Ideal_Rock
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My Grandmother was born in 1911, I have no idea how old these pearls are are ,no zip code on paperwork, but they were in her jewelry box for as long as I can remember They are newer than most pieces I have from my Grandmothers.I was born in late 1960's ,so by the time I could play in her jewelry box,it was in the 1970's. .Both of my Granddads fought in both WW1 and WWII and were about 12 years older than she was. My other Grandmother was also older, born in 1900 and left me many beautiful pieces from Europe. Maybe the Japanese affiliation prevented her from being fond of them. I am glad to know they are not costume. I wear two other strands, one I can double and wear with a brooch in center and one that is not graduated ,like these are.They too could be cultured ,I have no clue. I do love pearls.Thanks for all the info.

Oh you have to post more pictures :appl:
Edit
Thanks for posting more pictures ;)2 ;)2
They are lovelly
 

Tinkybell

Shiny_Rock
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I would guess the pearls are much younger than the clasps & anything but natural, i.e. fine pearls, not treasure - www, www I cna't immagien there is more than half a bucket of natural pearls liek that in Europe today [I'd be delighted to be proven wrong piece by piece by piece]
Thank you. I have no idea on any history of any of it. These were in my Grandmothers things as well as another graduated set,a sad set broken and the pearls have blemishes, and an envelope full of loose pearls from a jeweler in Ohio. They look to have started to restring those but I have left them alone .I took pictures .I assume our grandmothers shopped in their lifetime for new jewelry ,as well. Wow, those are just magnificent! I had no idea pearls can be that much,even natural!I am going to post the sad set that I think have seen better days. Can you confirm for me they are not worth restringing? Thank you! 20200629_175416.jpg
 

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AV_

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Anything is worth restringing; I tend to do this myself [fun], so I never asked what such service costs anywhere [how bad can it be!]
 

Tinkybell

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20200629_183111.jpg 20200629_183057.jpg 20200629_171740.jpg Found some more.The first two I found in with the children's jewelry.Does anyone know if the double strand is freshwater or regular? If I am asking too many questions just ignore.
 

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caf

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I just went back and read the pamphlet ,so yes,I would agree with Elizabeth35.Early 1950's is my guess.In the meantime,I went through some more things in the safe and found some baby jewelry items that are so sweet. Lots of little dress pins/buttons with gemstones all in gold ,strands of baby/child pearls,little gold bangles and baby rings .One little strand of pearls has a little gold piece in the center , with rubies and diamonds.I also found a pair of buckle bangles that I sent a picture of to my jeweler and she said they are Victorian wedding bangles.Having lots of fun going through this stuff.

We need photos!
 

Tinkybell

Shiny_Rock
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We need photos!

Of the baby jewelry? I think this is the wrong thead. I posted on another thread the other day but was advised to start a new one. Do you know where I can post children's items? There are some pearls but I just posted those on here.I am new at this.
 

caf

Brilliant_Rock
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Of the baby jewelry? I think this is the wrong thead. I posted on another thread the other day but was advised to start a new one. Do you know where I can post children's items? There are some pearls but I just posted those on here.I am new at this.

Buckle bangles!
 

Tinkybell

Shiny_Rock
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AV_

Ideal_Rock
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The double strand are freshwater 'rice' pearls [... who knows why I like them now as ever - they are perhaps the least expensive freshwater too; but the translucent, very white nacre - calls for mid day summer sun as it is these days. Digressing:some natural saltwater pearls look like this, but are simply too rare to expect a full strand - they are 'hinge' pearls, grown next to the hinge of shells, a particular kind of nacre; I love each & all of these small baroques.] The graduate strands are likely older costume or cultured - but I am judging wind & clasps, since no one in their right mind would identify pearls by pictures [same reasoning fro the non graduated rounds.]

stab in the dark
 

canuk-gal

Super_Ideal_Rock
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HI:

Your threads are like episodes of Antique Roadshow! How I am enjoying it all! You have a lot of wonderful treasures. Wear (what you can) in health.

And FWIW, if Mikomoto is "costume jewellery" then I am Sponge Bob Square Pants.:lol-2:

cheers--Sharon
 

Tinkybell

Shiny_Rock
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The double strand are freshwater 'rice' pearls [... who knows why I like them now as ever - they are perhaps the least expensive freshwater too; but the translucent, very white nacre - calls for mid day summer sun as it is these days. Digressing:some natural saltwater pearls look like this, but are simply too rare to expect a full strand - they are 'hinge' pearls, grown next to the hinge of shells, a particular kind of nacre; I love each & all of these small baroques.] The graduate strands are likely older costume or cultured - but I am judging wind & clasps, since no one in their right mind would identify pearls by pictures [same reasoning fro the non graduated rounds.]

stab in the dark

The double rice pearls were in with her baby jewelry but they may be for an adult .The one with the rubies and diamonds were in the baby stuff ,too,gritty on teeth, all of them..The graduated strand is listed as Akoya? cultured and only strand besides Mikimoto with paperwork.Thank you so much!
 
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