Ten Japanese Great Inventors-Kokichi Mikimoto

Zen International Patents and Trademarks

Today's topic is "Kokichi Mikimoto", one of ten Japanese Great Inventors chosen by the Japan Patent Office.

Kokichi Mikimoto is the founder of K.Mikimoto & Co., Ltd. , a famous jewelry manufacturing and sales company. 

He is the first person to create cultured pearls.

Till he created cultured pearls, pearls had been recognized as just a product of chance.
He devoted himself to studying cultivation of pearls for four years, and then he succeeded in growing and produceing semicircular cultured pearls from a protuberance inside the shell of an oyster in 1893.

With respct to the process of pearl culture, he obtained his first patent in 1896. (Patent number 2670)
Based on this success, he continued his research to produce circular cultured pearls, and then he succeeded.  
Today, his company has become a global industry and lots of people are fascinated with Mikimoto pearls.

Source: http://www.mikimoto-pearl-museum.co.jp/s/

Follow me!