BWeaves Amazing Journey to Japanese Pearl Farms

[BWeaves]

Pearl pagodas.

A replica of the pearl Liberty Bell, complete with crack made with blue pearls.

A pearl and diamond globe. It's taller than I am.

I was hoping that the gift shop would have a coffee table style book showing all the exhibits with good photos. They did not. I think it's a missed opportunity.

Antique natural pearl jewelry. These are not cultured pearls by Mikimoto.

Mikimoto cultured pearl royal crowns.

The Pearl Queen. Andy took my photo wearing the cardboard replica. Man, that lighting is harsh.

 

[BWeaves]

After wandering around the Mikimoto museum by ourselves, we found out that the director of the museum had been waiting for us for an hour in the library. Hisano said she'd never seen so many books about pearls, but they were all in Japanese. Most of us bought "Pearl Book" by Shigeru Akamatsu, put out by the Japan Pearl Promotion Society. It cost 5000 Yen, but they gave us a discount, so we paid 4500 Yen. I finally spent some of my Yen.

And then the director brought out trays with 17th, 18th, and 19th century natural pearl jewelry from the vaults. These were not pieces that were on display. These were not Mikimoto cultured pearls. These were real, old, natural pearl pieces. And he let us touch them and try them on! This was very unexpected.

That Swan called me immediately.

This is probably a natural Mississippi River feather pearl.

Ruby in the 19th century Sartoir.

The pendant alone was gorgeous, but the way the necklace was strung was amazing. The natural pearls are incredibly well matched.

Helena in a 19th century snake necklace. It looked very Bulgari, except this is much older than their designs. The Victorians were really into snake jewelry. Queen Victoria's engagement ring was a snake with emerald eyes.

Nathalie in the snake necklace.

17th century pendant.

18th or 19th century.

19th century turquoise and pearl.

Gold stone brooch.

19th century.

The only thing they wouldn't let me try on was the pearl tiara. It was too delicate.

I love the writing in the fitted case: Practical Jeweler to the Queen.

Because that parure (matching tiara and jewelry) is soooooo practical.

 

[BWeaves]

Huge natural pearl.

Amazing 19th century watch. The natural pearls are incredibly well matched. The watch is solid gold, and HEAVY.

Too much?

After we looked and touched and tried on everything (except the tiara), we went to the Mikimoto store. Jeremy said it was probably for tourists, and it was. The front of the shop was the inexpensive jewelry, cosmetics, and chopsticks with mother of pearl inlay. The back of the store had the higher end jewelry, but I didn't see any of the more interesting designs that I see on Mikimoto's online store. I did show Helena and Nathalie some pieces with incredible orient and luster and showed them how to compare them to pieces with less orient and luster.

It was a 3 1/2 hour drive home, and I was a bit nauseous from the drive, so I skipped dinner and went to bed.

 

[BWeaves]

Sunday, 8-June-2025

I had breakfast on the 30th floor with Andy. We were both the early risers of the group.

The 6th JPF. Japan Pearl Fair.

This is a wholesale show. Retail vendors go to this show to buy their inventory. Jewelers go to this show to buy the pearls they are going to use to create their own jewelry. Photos were not allowed. I asked permission if I could photograph in each booth. Live streaming was NOT allowed. I cannot share vendor contact information, because they are not selling retail.

Jeremy, as President of the Pearl Association of America, was one of the guests invited to cut the ribbon to open the fair.

Then we walked around the booths and met the vendors.

Yuko wanted to buy blue pearls to make a pearl choker out of her Kimono ornament that she was wearing on a chain. I helped her pick out 3 blue strands that matched the baroque pearls in her Kimono ornament.

Yuko.

Blue pearls.

PORNOGRAPHY ALERT!










Blue balls. Penis pearl.

Nathalie found a wrapped pearl necklace with tiny baroque pearls and tiny round golden pearls. It was like a tin-cup, but there was no chain between the pearls. I told her that if she didn't buy it, then I would. She bought it.

Then I found the pistachio akoyas. Drool. Nathalie bought a couple strands. They were in the 5-5.5 mm and 6-6.5 mm size range.

Jeremy introduced me to Betty Sue King. She was wearing amazing Tahitians that she had collected over the years.

I'd like to point out that 99% of the people at this fair were wearing black business suits. Not navy, not grey, not tan. Black suits and white shirts and black ties. The men had a single akoya pearl in their lapels. The women wore a single perfect choker of akoya pearls with matching stud earrings. I was the only person wearing a hot pink dress and purple Birkenstocks, and ropes of pearls down to my hips. I would have stood out in a crowd anyway, but maybe hot pink was a bit too, too much?