Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
1980s Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
White Diamond, Pearl, Yellow Gold, 18k Gold
Late 20th Century Japanese Contemporary Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
Diamond, Black Pearl, Platinum
1990s Japanese Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
Pearl, Sterling Silver
1990s Japanese Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
Pearl, Sterling Silver
1990s Japanese Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
Pearl, 14k Gold
1990s Japanese Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
Pearl, Sterling Silver
1990s Japanese Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
Pearl, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
1990s Japanese Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
Pearl, Sterling Silver
1990s Japanese Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
Pearl, Sterling Silver
20th Century Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
Diamond, Pearl, 18k Gold
1960s Japanese Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
Diamond, Cultured Pearl, Yellow Gold
People Also Browsed
1950s American Retro Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
Blue Sapphire, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s Indian Contemporary Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
Opal, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Artisan Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
Diamond, Emerald, 18k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Unknown Contemporary Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
Diamond, White Diamond, South Sea Pearl, Coral, 18k Gold, White Gold
Late 18th Century Portuguese Georgian Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
Diamond, Sterling Silver
2010s American Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
Emerald, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
Diamond, 18k Gold
Early 2000s Thai Art Deco Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
Diamond, Emerald, Jade, 14k Gold, White Gold, Enamel
2010s Thai Art Deco Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
Diamond, Ruby, Gold, 14k Gold, White Gold, Enamel
1960s American Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
Diamond, Pearl, 18k Gold
1990s French Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
1960s American Modern Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
Early 20th Century European Edwardian Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
Diamond, Pearl, 18k Gold, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary American Contemporary Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
Diamond, South Sea Pearl, 18k Gold
1980s French Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
Diamond, 18k Gold
Recent Sales
Late 20th Century Unknown Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
Pearl, 18k Gold, White Gold
1990s American Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
Cultured Pearl, 18k Gold
Mid-20th Century Unknown Artisan Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
Cultured Pearl, Silver
Mid-20th Century Unknown Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
Diamond, Pearl, 18k Gold
20th Century Japanese Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
Pearl, White Diamond, 18k Gold, White Gold
1960s Japanese Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
Pearl, Gold, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
1980s Japanese Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
White Diamond, Cultured Pearl, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Late 20th Century Japanese Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
Cultured Pearl, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1980s Japanese Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
Pearl, Cultured Pearl, Silver, Sterling Silver
1990s Japanese Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
Diamond, Cultured Pearl, 18k Gold
1990s Japanese Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
Diamond, Cultured Pearl, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1980s Japanese Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
Cultured Pearl, 18k Gold
1990s Japanese Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
Pearl, Cultured Pearl, Sterling Silver
1960s Japanese Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
Cultured Pearl, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
1980s Japanese Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
Diamond, South Sea Pearl, Yellow Gold
1990s Contemporary Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
Pearl, Diamond, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1980s Unknown Modern Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
Cultured Pearl, 18k Gold
1970s Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
Pearl, Sterling Silver
1960s Contemporary Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
Pearl, Cultured Pearl, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1970s Modern Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
Pearl, Sterling Silver
1980s Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
Diamond, Cultured Pearl, 18k Gold
1980s Japanese Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
Pearl, Sterling Silver
1990s Japanese Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
1970s Modern Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
Pearl, Gold, 14k Gold
1990s Japanese Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
Pearl, Sterling Silver
1960s Contemporary Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
Diamond, White Diamond, Pearl, Yellow Gold, Gold, 18k Gold
1950s Modernist Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
Diamond, White Diamond, Pearl, Cultured Pearl, Gold, White Gold
1940s Retro Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
Pearl, Gold, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
1950s Japanese Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
Pearl, 14k Gold
20th Century Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
Pearl, White Gold
20th Century Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
Pearl, White Gold
1950s American Retro Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
Pearl, 14k Gold
20th Century Japanese Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
Diamond, Pearl, Gold
20th Century Japanese Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
Pearl, Yellow Gold
1990s Japanese Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
Cultured Pearl, Black Pearl, 18k Gold, White Gold
1990s Japanese Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
Pearl, Silver
1990s Japanese Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
Pearl, Sterling Silver
1990s Unknown Modern Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
Diamond, Pearl, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1990s Contemporary Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
Pearl, Cultured Pearl, Gold, Yellow Gold, 18k Gold
20th Century Japanese Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
Diamond, Pearl, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1980s Japanese Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
Pearl, Yellow Gold
1990s Japanese Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
Pearl, Gold
1990s Japanese Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
Pearl, Gold
1990s Japanese Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
Pearl, Cultured Pearl, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
1990s Japanese Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
Pearl, Cultured Pearl, Gold, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
Mid-20th Century Unknown Modern Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
Diamond, White Diamond, Pearl, Cultured Pearl, 18k Gold, White Gold
1980s American Contemporary Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
Pearl, Diamond, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1980s Unknown Modern Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
Cultured Pearl, 18k Gold
20th Century Japanese Edwardian Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
Cultured Pearl, Sterling Silver
Late 20th Century Japanese Modern Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
Diamond, Cultured Pearl, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1980s Japanese Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
Pearl, 18k Gold
1990s Japanese Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
Pearl, 14k Gold
1950s Japanese Retro Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
Pearl, Silver
1990s Japanese Modern Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
Diamond, Pearl, Gold, 18k Gold
20th Century Japanese Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
Diamond, Pearl, Platinum
20th Century Japanese Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
Late 20th Century Japanese Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
Diamond, Pearl, Platinum
1960s Japanese Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
1960s Contemporary Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
Pearl, 14k Gold
20th Century Japanese Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage
Diamond, South Sea Pearl, 18k Gold
Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage For Sale on 1stDibs
How Much is a Mikimoto Pearl Earrings Vintage?
Mikimoto for sale on 1stDibs
Born to a noodle-shop owner, Japanese jeweler Kokichi Mikimoto (1858–1954) worked in the seafood business before shifting his focus to pearl cultivation. In 1893, he successfully developed the world’s first cultured pearls with a semispherical specimen. His further experimentation would include black and white South Sea pearls. This development gave Mikimoto a supply of what had once been a notoriously rare natural element and earned him the nickname “The Pearl King.” As he once said, “My dream is to adorn the necks of all women around the world with pearls.”
In 1899 in Tokyo’s Ginza district, Mikimoto opened his first, eponymous store in a white-stone building reminiscent of the color of pearls. He quickly earned a reputation for dazzling designs that blended Japanese craftsmanship and European influence. Mikimoto sent his jewelers to Europe to study the latest trends in jewelry and design; they brought back knowledge of Art Deco and Art Nouveau styles, which were incorporated into designs featuring Mikimoto’s pearls.
But Mikimoto’s creations were not met with enthusiasm by all. In 1921, a London newspaper called the designer’s jewelry “only imitations of real pearls” and claimed the company was “misleading” its customers. It developed into a lawsuit in the French courts, which ruled in Mikimoto’s favor, and raised the jeweler’s global profile. He also brought his work international acclaim through exhibitions and world’s fairs, including the 1926 Sesquicentennial Exposition in Philadelphia where he unveiled a replica of the Liberty Bell covered with pearls. In 1927, Mikimoto met with Thomas Edison, who gave the jeweler’s invention probably its best compliment: “It is one of the wonders of the world that you were able to culture pearls. . . . This isn’t a cultured pearl, it’s a real pearl.”
Following World War II, Mikimoto opened stores around the world, with locations now in Paris, New York City, Los Angeles and Shanghai. Though its founder died in 1954, the Mikimoto company has continued to build on the legacy he established, producing collections of pearl necklaces and other pearl-centric jewelry that span a wide range of styles. In 2017, the brand reopened its flagship Tokyo store, tapping architect Hiroshi Naito to design a new glittering facade whose 40,000 tiny glass plates are meant to evoke the movement of the ocean as they catch the light. The place where Mikimoto had his legendary success over a century ago is now known as Mikimoto Pearl Island and includes a museum on his life and pearls. A highlight is the “Boss’s Necklace,” which was the first made by Mikimoto and is the model for all the brand’s classic strands that have followed.
Find Mikimoto pendant necklaces, choker necklaces and a range of other jewelry on 1stDibs.
Finding the Right earrings for You
In the United States, ear piercing didn’t really become popular until the 1950s and ‘60s, but our desire for a dazzling pair of vintage earrings has deeper roots than that. In fact, wearing earrings actually goes back thousands of years, and you can find many tangible connections between now and then in how we continue to talk about these treasured accessories.
Women wore ornamental earrings — studs and hoops at the very least — in Ancient Egypt, which is home to mines that are among the earliest sources of emeralds in the world. Emerald earrings are highly prized today, and their quality lies in their rich, saturated color. The highest-quality emeralds are green or bluish-green. Earrings worn by the affluent in early Roman civilizations were set with precious stones such as diamonds and pearls, and a clean-looking pop of pearl on the front of the lobe is as timeless as ever. Hoop earrings are imbued with symbolism and cultural significance for many, and on view in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Ancient Near Eastern Art Gallery is a pair of simple gold hoops from Mesopotamia dating to between 2600 and 2500 B.C.
Today, ear piercing is very popular all over the world, and, as a result, it is difficult to overstate how much everyone pines for a good pair of earrings — modernist drop earrings, glamorous Victorian hoops, geometrically complex chandelier earrings, you name it. Sure, jewelry trends and the fashion darlings of social media come and go, but earrings have a staying power that seems impenetrable: The still-strong love affair between British royals and Cartier earrings is more than a century old, glossy 1970s hoops from legacy houses such as Bulgari and Van Cleef & Arpels remain the statement makers they’ve always been and although people have been stacking earrings for many moons, the allure of an expertly mismatched stack of charms and studs still feels fresh and new.
While there is no shortage of modern earring designs to choose from, the classics, like coral earrings, Art Deco–style earrings and diamond drop earrings are still heavy hitters. On 1stDibs, find a wide range of antique, new and vintage earrings today.
- 1stDibs ExpertOctober 12, 2021How much a Mikimoto pearl necklace is worth will depend on the size of the strand, the number of pearls used and the design. It could range from $920 to $21,000, with a wide variety of price points in between. From pendant and choker to multi-strand and rope versions, find Mikimoto pearl necklaces on 1stDibs.
- Are Mikimoto pearls Akoya?2 Answers1stDibs ExpertAugust 17, 2021No, not all Mikimoto pearls are Akoya. Mikimoto also uses Black South Sea cultured pearls, White South Sea cultured pearls, Golden South Sea cultured pearls, and Conch pearls to create their jewelry. Shop Mikimoto Akoya pearl jewelry on 1stDibs.1stDibs ExpertMarch 22, 2022Yes, Mikimoto pearls are Akoya, meaning they come from Akoya oysters. The brand largely pioneered the production of cultured pearls, which are genuine pearls developed with human assistance. Mikimoto creates Akoya pearl necklaces, pendants, earrings, bracelets, rings and brooches. On 1stDibs, shop a variety of Mikimoto pearl jewelry.
- 1stDibs ExpertMarch 22, 2022Yes, Mikimoto pearls tend to at least hold their value over time. In some cases, the value of the brand's pearl jewelry increases over time due to demand and the effects of inflation. Keep in mind that the value of any piece of jewelry depends on its condition. Properly storing and caring for your pieces can help to ensure that they retain their value for years to come. On 1stDibs, shop a selection of Mikimoto pearl jewelry.