[Caitlin]

Hi Lyra
Spend some time reading here and you will see there are 2 contingents. One is perfectly satisfied with akoyas and Mikimoto is their ideal cultured pearl, bead and all. The other contingent eschews pearl plating as an inferior product preferring the tissue only nucleation which produces a solid, cultured pearl indistinguishable from the original, natural, wild, pearls of old.

Some prefer the Mystique of the brand name even if the product is inferior and will wear out; some prefer the romance of wearing an actual pearl solid to the core in its integrity, even if it is a little less round than the shape the bead implant gives to the pearl plated akoyas. Make no mistake, your Mikis are just a thin pearl plating over a MoP bead, no matter what brand name Mystique or how much the original purchase price.

We are all agreed that Mr Mikimoto had a handle on Mystique matched only by the De Beers consortium- and that he chose the pearl plating technique over the tissue-only nucleation which would have produced solid nacre pearls, in order to shorten the growing time in the mollusk and increase the profits.

Most Mikimotos are not Hanadama quality, in fact even the flagship labeled mikis are often of varying quality and priced accordingly. Blue Lagoon is strictly 2nd rate miki. Mikis are only valuable in resale if they have the clasp, the box, and the certificate. That does not make them good pearls, it makes them good collectors items.

Sellers on this forum with Hanadama strands have pearls that are better than mikis, though both contingents agree that if worn, both the mikis and the Hanadamas will lose their top quality luster over time. For durability and wearability, there is no bead-nuked akoya comparable to top quality freshwater pearls.