Buyers Guide, Mikimoto Necklace - Pearl Tips Revealed For any Cultured Pearl Necklace

Who's Mikimoto?

When considering an Akoya cultured pearl necklace, pearl admirers realize that Mikimoto Kokichi is widely considered the father of modern pearl jewelry. Born in Mie prefecture, Japan, to an udon noodle shop owner, Mikimoto had humble beginnings. It is believed that while Mikimoto was working as a teenager selling vegetables to assist support his family, he first noticed pearls as divers would unload their treasures by the docks.For more info, you should go to: Halskette

In 1888, to deal with the overharvesting of the pearl producing oysters near his home, Mikimoto and the wife, Ume, began in earnest attempting to cultivate pearls. After many setbacks, Mikimoto was able to create a hemispherical, cultured pearl in 1893. Three years later, he introduced the half spherical pearls at an exposition in Norway. However, it was not until 1916 and receiving a patent that Mikimoto could produce round pearls. To further expand, he later purchased the rights to the Mise-Niskikawa approach to producing round pearls, which in fact had been a competing technique introduced around 1907.

However, probably his most lasting impact on the current cultured pearl, is perfecting the strategy of using round nuclei cut from American freshwater mussels. This process has been a business production standard for cultured pearl necklaces for the past 90 years.

What to Know When Buying

Mikimoto once was quoted as saying his dream was "to adorn the necks of all the women of the world with pearls." He has compare. With inspiration drawn from his classic Akoya cultured pearl necklace, pearl producers have replicated it often over all over the world. Although a Mikimoto pearl strand comes in varying sizes and qualities, Mikimoto pearl strands are recognized to have good luster and thick nacre. Additional characteristics include:

Lengths

Choker (16 inches) which emphasizes the neckline
Princess (18 inches) is the most common length of necklace, which hangs just beneath the collar bone
Matinee (22 - 24 inches) is made to provide a more dramatic effect, hanging just over a blouse or dress with a clean line top
Opera (30 - 32 inches) provides a more dramatic effect compared to Matinee. This length also leads to be worn like a double strand by simply crossing it back over the neck. This length is usually restricted to more formal occasions

Grading
Conceivably, each jeweler can have their own grading scale, e.g. A - D, AAAAA to A, or triple A to some. However, the Mikimoto grading scale is characterized as follows:

Triple A: superior, mirror-like luster and blemish free
AA: excellent luster and only slight blemishes
A+: very good luster and just slight blemishes
A: good luster and only slight blemishes
NOTE: Sub-grades are A1, A+1, AA1 and AAA1, where "1" means the surface has slight blemishes

Avoiding Mikimoto Imitations

Since Mikimoto pearl strands have become so popular, it's unfortunate that imitations of their Akoya cultured pearl necklace are available. However, there are a few stuff that that you can do to prevent imitations:

Look for the Mikimoto trademark, an oyster shell by having an "M" inside, located on the back of the clasp. This trademark authenticates the piece. When the clasp is missing, may possibly not be easy to authenticate the pearl strand as Mikimoto

Alternatives
As noted earlier, the classic Mikimoto Akoya cultured pearl strand is a standard. However, other places in Japan and China can also produce high-quality, Akoya cultured pearl strands. Nevertheless there is a deserved, perceived quality in Mikimoto Akoya cultured pearl strands, non-Mikimoto branded cultured pearl necklaces of high quality can be purchased for a fraction of the cost.

If you are considering purchasing non-Mikimoto pearls, familiarize yourself with exactly what the Gemological Institute of America has established for valuing pearls:

Size: larger is desirable
Shape: round
Color: is really a personal preference, most common though is white or rose
Luster: higher is much better
Surface quality: virtually no blemishes
Nacre quality: thickness is a premium
Matching: uniformity from the pearls is desirable