Is this a Mikimoto brooch
- Thread starter Bab4444
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Bab4444, trust your instincts. I am not an expert but I have a few vintage Mikimoto brooches and none of them are set like this. One of the things I like about their brooches apart from the pearls of course, is the very clean setting - nearly all prong set with no excess glue ever. Also look at the mark - it is applied rather than inset into the metal. I don't think that I have ever seen an applied mark before on Mikimoto. Further, IMO the hinge looks a bit flat. The hinge on a lot of vintage Japanese brooches and Mikimoto in particular is usually quite rounded.
So I think your belief is correct. Hope this helps.
So I think your belief is correct. Hope this helps.
StarryPearl
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I don’t know much of Mikimoto’s brooch but IMHO this setting simply looks too ragged on the solder joints to be Mikimoto. Besides, the little piece that carries the logo/hallmarks is not even a good rectangle, leaving the margin between the logo and the edge looking cramped.
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I’ve attached more pictures. My camera is not perfect… There is no glue whatsoever around the pearls and I assure you there’s nothing ragged about this piece. I did test it and it comes up 18k. Not silver… Members on other sites say it’s authentic but I just don’t know.
I’ve seen the M as an engraving and also raised. I’m more confused about the S and it coming up 18k. Baffled!
StarryPearl
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Found this pic: https://pin.it/7fOHGB0GJ. To me this one on Pinterest looks more like the authentic version of Mikimoto.
(failed quoting media properly, let me download from the address above and then upload: )
(failed quoting media properly, let me download from the address above and then upload: )
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StarryPearl
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Interesting test findings! Any chance it's sterling plated with 18k white gold, and the scratches got mostly the surface? Just some wild guess.
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StarryPearl
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Interestingly, also found a 18K WG version of this brooch. It's back looks very interesting. Notice how it's got logo-ed: https://antiquesandpossibilities.com/products/18kt-wg-mikimoto-grape-brooch
Quite possible the silver version has different hallmarking approach from the 18KG version. I searched for some silver Mikimoto's brooches and it looks like they were all stamped on the thick round edge, instead of soldering a small extra piece of silver onto the setting, at least on the ones I found in the past half an hour.
Quite possible the silver version has different hallmarking approach from the 18KG version. I searched for some silver Mikimoto's brooches and it looks like they were all stamped on the thick round edge, instead of soldering a small extra piece of silver onto the setting, at least on the ones I found in the past half an hour.
CortezPearls
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Hard to imagine why someone would plate with sterling, since it tarnishes...as opposed to white gold, that does not.
You can try and polish some of the scratches away.
StarryPearl
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Hmm.. Did I express myself incorrectly? I said "sterling plated with 18k white gold". I thought that meant 18k gold was the top layer, over the base of sterling.
StarryPearl
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I think this is the one I posted on #11. And that one's back looks like this:
Even on the front, they do not look identical, especially on details. For the most obvious example, how the vines curl, how they end, and how they touches the leaves and the big circle frame.
To me the one you got so far appears a knockoff of the sterling version (with 18K WG plating).
You took great pictures. Why not shoot an email to mikimoto with all the pics and ask them directly?
StarryPearl
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Putting a few pics together for easier comparison:
Circled some of the most obvious differences on the setting in the front only, since we all noticed how far different the pearl attaching part on the back is.
The second when my eyes laid on the first red circle when I first opened this thread, I doubted it was Mikimoto. When I scrolled down and saw the second red circle, I knew it could not be Mikimoto. The whole piece does look delicate and very similar to the authentic ones, but those 2 places where I circled in red, were what I meant by "ragged" -- Mikimoto doesn't let its jewelry finish like that.
Circled some of the most obvious differences on the setting in the front only, since we all noticed how far different the pearl attaching part on the back is.
The second when my eyes laid on the first red circle when I first opened this thread, I doubted it was Mikimoto. When I scrolled down and saw the second red circle, I knew it could not be Mikimoto. The whole piece does look delicate and very similar to the authentic ones, but those 2 places where I circled in red, were what I meant by "ragged" -- Mikimoto doesn't let its jewelry finish like that.
StarryPearl
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You are very welcome. Like you said, it's still a pretty brooch. It's always fun to treasure hunt!!
I have found this thread fascinating. I know zero about pearls. All I do know is I have this brooch of my mothers. She lived with her parents in occupied Japan post WWII and she has many pieces from their time there. They lived in the Tokyo hotel for a while and also Kyoto. She told me about the Mikimoto store in the lobby of the hotel and her father buying this for her mother in their presence along with a strand of baroque pearls and one strand of graduated white pearls.I find no mark however What do you all think. I see the pearls have the inserted prong method.You are very welcome. Like you said, it's still a pretty brooch. It's always fun to treasure hunt!!
