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Of the existing mollusk species in nature, only six are capable of producing pearls. When a foreign object enters the shell, part of the mantle's protective cover is separated from it and envelops the grain. For several years, the pearl grows, layer after layer of mother-of-pearl covering the foreign body.
One of the six mollusks, namely the Akoya mollusk, was used by Kokichi Mikimoto, the founder of Mikimoto, to grow the best pearls in the world. It was the invention of the method of cultivation of natural pearls that allowed Kokichi Mikimoto to receive the title of "Pearl King" during his lifetime. And the business to which he devoted himself entirely without a trace is still alive. 117 years after Kokichi launched the first cultured pearl, we decided to talk about the Mikimoto phenomenon with Jeremy Burbanks, Mikimoto's Sales Manager in the Middle East and Europe.
Judging by the recent reports of the Dubai Mercantile and Raw Materials Center (DMCC), pearl sales in the UAE in 2009 increased significantly. Tell me, please, what is Mikimoto doing in the Middle East today? What brand prospects do you see?
The first thing I must say is that, even in the situation of the global financial crisis, both the current and all previous ones, Mikimoto, fortunately, did not feel a noticeable decline in sales. It seems to me that this is because jewelry with pearls from Mikimoto is so delicate and exquisite that they are one of the most beloved jewelry for women from different countries. In the traditions of many peoples of the world - to give pearls for weddings, birthdays and other family celebrations. Buying pearls is a classic purchase. Indeed, the natural beauty of pearls is highly valued both in Europe and in America, and especially here in the Middle East. Therefore, in this situation, perhaps we did not record high profits, but certainly we did not have serious drops in sales volumes.
Starting in 1893, Mikimoto is constantly growing and expanding its presence in various markets. As for the Middle East, just recently we opened a new Mikimoto department in Kuwait, we hope to soon open a new branded boutique in Dubai. We are pleased with the current situation, thanks in large part to our partner, Damas, which we have been working with for almost ten years now.
If we talk about the luxury segment, then Mikimoto is the only luxury brand that came not from Europe or America, but from the Far East, which represents completely unique jewelry and a phenomenal history and philosophy of the brand. In each product, Japanese quality, the finest work, the zeal of the masters can be traced. After all, Mikimoto never compromises on quality. Sometimes it’s even a little pity when a product that took months or even years to manufacture is sold in minutes.
Please tell me, do you probably have a “waiting list” for jewelry, given the length and complexity of their production?
Yes of course. For certain products. We have several factories, but one factory, called Meguro Factory in Tokyo, is the reference. It employs jewelers creating collections. Each product is made manually by a master jeweler in a single copy. Of course, if someone comes to us and wants to purchase some piece of goods, and it was already sold at that time, then we can repeat the order, but this will not be an exact copy, but a new decoration with the changes made to it.
It can take from two to four years to make such jewelry from a sketch to an embodiment. To understand this, you need to try to plunge into the culture of the Far East. If we say that today the Far East is very far from European culture, we can imagine how things were when Kokichi Mikimoto first began to cultivate pearls in Japan, which, in practice, was completely isolated from the rest of the world and lived her own life. It was impossible to get to it by train or fly by plane, as can be done now. Only from Dubai to Tokyo flies more than twenty flights a week. Then, of course, there was an incredible gap between cultures, but Kokichi Mikimoto was smart enough to realize that he would not succeed if he offered his jewelry only in the local market. His goal was Europe or, more precisely, London and Paris - the two capitals of the then European fashion. Kokichi Mikimoto went to Europe, where he devoted some time to studying fashion trends and jewelry making techniques. Upon arrival in Japan, he adapted his jewelry to European tastes and began to sell them successfully. And what was originally created by Kokichi Mikimoto has never changed for more than a hundred years. If you want to visit a factory in Tokyo today, you will see that it is what it was during the lifetime of Kokichi Mikimoto. And I can argue with any leading European jewelry house today that they, with all the modern technologies, will not be able to compete with the masters of Mikimoto.
Do you somehow connect the Middle Eastern buyers' love for pearl jewelry with the natural pearl mining traditions that the Middle East region was so famous for before the beginning of the 20th century?
This is an interesting question. Initially, some fifteen to twenty years ago, when cultured pearls first appeared in this region, some resistance was felt from buyers. Because people who independently extracted natural pearls from the day of the sea believed that everything that was not extracted from the sea was fake or fake. They did not understand that cultured pearls are the same natural, their growth is simply controlled by a person, and not given to chance. But, fortunately, in countries such as Dubai, Qatar, Kuwait, people perfectly understand and appreciate the word "brand", so here is a special relationship to Mikimoto. Currently, the largest exhibition of natural pearls mined in different parts of the world is collected at the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, the capital of Qatar. I have one client who always says that "Mikimoto is a jewelry brand whose heroine is a pearl." In my opinion, this is a great definition. And today, I can proudly say that Mikimoto is a very successful brand in all Gulf countries, perhaps except Bahrain. There, our products are still subject to a historical ban, like fake pearls. Therefore, you cannot buy a necklace from Mikimoto in Bahrain.
A strange ban, given that Mikimoto pearls are still natural ... Indeed, strange. But it was introduced a long time ago when the first cultured pearls appeared in this region. And it was not the pearl of Mikimoto, respectively, its quality left much to be desired, but the word "cultivated" was postponed in the minds of the rulers of Bahrain, so the ban on Mikimoto is still valid.
What shades of pearl do Middle Eastern customers prefer?
Are there any collections or individual items among Mikimoto jewelry that you could call bestsellers?
There are four main types of pearls in the world: akoya - Japanese pearls that are born in akoya shells, usually of a pure white color with a maximum pearl size of 9 mm. If you see “Akoya” pearls of a different color, then they are painted in a special solution. This is usually done with pearls of not perfect quality. Larger white pearls (over 9 mm) are grown off the coast of Australia. The black pearls that black-oyster oysters off the coast of Okinawa and Tahiti "hatched" have many tones, but it is better to choose the exquisite iridescent blue, which is famous for Mikimoto. And the pearl of the color "green peacock", very rare, has a specific shine and incomparable overflows that create the whole universe of shades. Large golden pearls come from the coastal waters of the Philippines and Indonesia.
Now these sea treasures come in other colors, forming a bewitching palette - cream, gray, green, blue, gold, pink. The colors and shapes of the best of these pearls, only 5% of which Mikimoto recognizes as high-quality, are studied and sorted, getting into jewelry that a century ago pleased the aristocrats who bought them in the first Mikimoto monobrand boutique in Ginza, Tokyo, where the most expensive stores are concentrated. Today, these jewelry is available to connoisseurs, lovers of jewelry and collectors in London, Paris, Dubai and other cities - luxury centers.
If we talk about the preferences of customers, then the classic snow-white pearl remains a bestseller. Not so long ago, we noted an increase in consumer demand for golden pearls. This pearl shade looks amazingly on the dark skin of the inhabitants of this region. Sometimes, much better than on too light skin of the inhabitants of European countries.
Black pearls from Southeast Asia sell well, but still not like pure white or golden pink.
I once saw a very unusual Mikimoto necklace, made up of a whole cascade of two-tone pearls - white and gold - of irregular shape. Do jewelry of this kind find their customers?
This necklace was made in a limited edition, which included four necklaces. To date, three of them have already been sold. One of them was from white and golden pearls, the other from white and black, the third from white and pink. We sold two necklaces in Abu Dhabi, the third in Qatar.
Please tell us a little more about the technology of "inlaying" pearls with diamonds. Is this Mikimoto's know-how?
Oh, this is our Milan collection. Even by name you can guess that this collection was invented and made in Italy, however, using Mikimoto pearls. This year, we presented two new collections that used the same technology for fixing diamonds in pearls. One was named "Sakura", in honor of the Japanese cherry blossoms, the favorite cherry blossom of all Japanese. It uses pearls of white, black and golden hues. The second was called Neo Vintage ("Neo-Vintage"), which uses a unique laser technology to "set" diamonds in a pearl, if you want Mikimoto's know-how.
It requires the utmost concentration and the highest level of craftsmanship to make the hole in the pearl as small as possible, remembering that the pearl is still alive.
What other Mikimoto collections deserve special mention?
In my opinion, every collection is worth it. But, nevertheless, the company Mikimoto is famous for its unique design findings. For example, we have a collection called “Pearls in Motion”. Its uniqueness is that inside each pearl in the necklace special tubes are installed, and you can move the pearls along the chain wherever you want, each time grouping them to your taste. That is, buying one necklace, you get a whole set of various jewelry, as the pearls will be located exactly where you put them. This jewelry can be worn every day.
You sell Mikimoto jewelry in different countries. Do the tastes of your customers vary by region?
Our classic collections are in equal demand around the world. Firstly, these are traditions, secondly, the quality of pearls and, thirdly, design and a lifetime guarantee for jewelry. For 117 years, Mikimoto has adhered to its philosophy and quality standards. That is why for me personally, the historical component is very important, an unshakable connection with traditions started by Kokichi Mikimoto himself, who never compromised on quality and therefore could afford to open the first store in Tokyo in 1925, having only one pearl of an ideal round shape. There is a famous photograph of 1932, which shows Mr. Mikimoto shoveling 720 thousand low-grade pearls (!) In a furnace in front of the Kobe Chamber of Commerce. Just to show members of the public and the press that flawed pearls never reach the consumer. This is Mikimoto's proprietary "brand of responsibility." From the point of view of our contemporaries, this, of course, is unthinkable squandering. Now this does not happen, because the unique properties of pearls are widely used in the production of high-end cosmetic products, including Mikimoto branded cosmetics, as well as pharmaceuticals.
Queen Elizabeth II of England loves and always wears pearl jewelry. Are there any Mikimoto products among her sets?
I think it’s unlikely. Usually, Her Majesty wears jewelry made from natural pearls, obtained in a natural way, and most likely, these are gifts presented to her by the ruling families of the Middle East region, or they are antique products passed down from generation to generation.
But if you turn to celebrities, that is, the famous Marilyn Monroe necklace. Then Marilyn and American baseball star Joe Di Maggio spent their honeymoon in Japan. The bride and groom received a Mikimoto pearl necklace from the largest white Akoya pearls as a gift. The necklace was one of the few jewelry that belonged to Marilyn: basically, her jewelry was jewelry. She wore a necklace even after her divorce from Di Maggio, explaining that the jewelry "reminds her of happier times." Then Marilyn gave the pearl necklace to her close friend Paul Strasberg, the wife of the famous director and teacher Lee Strasberg. After Marilyn died in 1962, Paula handed the necklace to her daughter Susan with the words: "Marilyn would like you to have it." This necklace was recently purchased from the heirs of actress Susan Strasberg. So the circle was closed, on which the jewelry traveled since 1954. Today, this necklace is kept at the Mikimoto Jewelry Museum.
How many jewelry and other pearl jewelry are kept in this museum?
Oh, there’s not enough for a day to describe everything. It’s better to see once ... For example, there is a copy of the American Liberty Bell made of white pearls, and the crack on its body is made of black, and many other unique products. None of them are for sale today, even for very big money, and are not put up at international auctions.
But we produce limited collections of jewelry, copying the most interesting and famous products of our museum. So, we made a limited collection of 1100 necklaces, exactly repeating Marilyn Monroe's beads, in two lines. The necklace from the first line exactly repeats the Monroe beads: the same size, the same large white Akoya pearls. The second line of the necklace is a reduced scale of pearls and a slightly different color: from bright white to pinkish. The clasp of the Monroe necklace is also copied - a bow with two ribbons of white gold and with diamonds.
What new collections, besides the already shown Sakura, are Mikimoto masters working on now?
At major international exhibitions, including the current one in Swiss Basel, we usually present unique jewelry produced in single pieces. Often, in such jewelry we use Japanese pearls, combined with pearls of the South Seas, gold, diamonds. We acquire the pearls of the South Seas at international auctions, at which Mikimoto is one of the main buyers. It is very difficult to pick pearls in one product that are fully suitable in color, gloss, size. Prices for such jewelry can reach up to a million dollars, moreover, only for a necklace consisting of several threads.Such jewelry is usually acquired by local ruling or simply wealthy families as wedding gifts to the bride. In the Middle East, there is an unwritten rule that one of the wedding jewelry sets should be pearl. It’s hard to tell about other new products; come to our boutiques and see for yourself.
Is it true that pearls age and tarnish under the influence of time?
In fact, it is not time that causes the pearls more harm, but environmental pollution, creams and perfumes, and other cosmetics containing alcohol, alkalis, and acidic components. Sometimes we receive complaints from customers who bring us jewelry, where the pearl can be almost destroyed. This is surprising, but such things happen at times. And it’s hard for us to tell the buyer that the matter is not in the quality of pearls, but in himself, since there is a category of people whose sweat contains a large amount of acid that destroys the pearl. From the touch of the hands of such people, dark spots appear on silver.
Proper care is of great importance for the safety of a pearl necklace or ring and earrings with pearls, since high humidity, heat and dust, constant air conditioning are also harmful factors for pearls. Jewelry with pearls should be wiped with a soft cloth, stored in special boxes to avoid scratches, and if it is a necklace, then from time to time change the thread on which the pearls are strung. And you need to do this only in our company stores.
So which jewelry is better - with pearls or with diamonds?
In my opinion, diamonds are too obvious a demonstration of luxury. Jewelry with pearls is an eternal classic, at the same time, no less luxurious, and, in my opinion, it is a more balanced and wise choice, because such products are stored in families for centuries, transferred from grandmothers to granddaughters, becoming over time a real family heirloom.
And if it's still a pearl, does that mean it should be from Mikimoto?
I think yes. I believe that no other company in the world has such a history, philosophy and such an approach to the cultivation of pearls and the subsequent production of jewelry from it like Mikimoto. Therefore, if you want to get a real masterpiece and uncompromising quality, because for the production of jewelry we use only 5% of the total volume of pearls we grow, then yes, it must be Mikimoto pearls.
Thanks for the conversation and see you soon.
