In 1935, amidst plummeting prices for cultured pearls in Japan the father of pearl culture and dauntless entrepreneur, Mikimoto Kokichi, publicly burned tons of low-quality cultured pearls to show the world that Mikimoto company sold only high-quality pearls. It was a courageous stunt that the public bought, and a promise that the House of Mikimoto faithfully upheld even after the demise of its founder. Currently, the WWD trade journal ranks Mikimoto among the top luxury brands in the world for creating immaculate pearls set in excellently crafted jewelry pieces. Take as an example the Pearls in Motion necklace. Mikimoto infuses fun and practicality into the necklace by allowing the pearls to move around on the 18k white gold chain. You can get different looks using the same piece of jewelry. The design stays in place until you decide to move them again because of a special mechanism exclusive to Mikimoto’s. The company's creative knack is one reason why the Mikimoto Company is exactly where Kokichi envisioned it to be.

 

 

References: http://www.mikimotoamerica.com/collections/pearls-in-motion.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikimoto_K%C5%8Dkichi