Advice on Mikimototo Clasp

[ChrisF]

Hi,
Please can you give me some advice.
I collect glass necklaces and old jewellery, and buy job lots. In a recent purchase were some clasps, one of which has the Mikimoto logo on. I could cry when I think what happened to the pearls, probably on some childs craft project...
I could do with some advice on what to do with it.
I do sell things on ebay, but am aware that someone could buy the clasp and put it on non mikimoto pearls and scam somebody else. But on the other hand there might be someone who genuinely is looking for a replacement
I could put it one of my own non pearl necklaces, but I do not like doing that as it is non authentic.
Does any one have any opinions or experience?
Also what period does the clasp date from?
And what sort of price do they fetch - Ebay can be a jungle, and I do not want to be scammed myself
Hopefully the photos I'm trying to attach will show up. I'm in the UK.
Thank you in advance.
Chris

 

[Marianne]

Hi Chris, I have very little knowledge of Miki clasps, but thank you for being so honest and welcome to the forum. One of our Miki experts will certainly be able to help you

 

[Caitlin]

Miki Clasps ARE a bit of a conundrum, are they not? I am not sure that is a miki clasp. Those have been knocked off, too.

 

[Honey_and_Lemon]

Looks like it was a clasp for a double strand of pearls, and it appears older than clasps on "vintage" Mikimoto strands found at rubylane. Almost looks like sterling silver, I would contact Mikimoto USA/UK and see what they say.

 

[pattye]

Very cool clasp! And your photos are great! There is an S on the tab of the hook insert which would indicate sterling. Safety chains were used in the 40's and 50's, perhaps earlier also. It probably is authentic, but it would help if you found a photo of one like it, or were able to get confirmation from Mikimoto.

 

[Honey_and_Lemon]

You might want to give it a go, with some silver dip (for the chain) a polishing cloth for the main body. It would probably look very nice if shined up.

 

[ChrisF]

Thank you all for your replies.
I'm in no hurry, so I will do as you suggest and look out for similar clasps and contact Mikimoto - and take it from there.

The pearl on the clasp is just beautiful - having only seen faux pearls before, I had not realised just how lovely they are !
So I think I need to start learning about pearls. (and this forum seems a great place to learn)
Thanks
Chris
Chris

 

[pattye]

If you are thinking of selling the clasp, I'd recommend not shining it up. Patina helps to establish age and authenticity, just as the loose ring does.

 

[Bacca]

Hello, Chris,

Great photos!

Kudos to you for being an ethical seller. Since you can't control how the clasp is used by a buyer, I'd say what you do with it depends on how strongly you feel about the options. You need to decide which is more important to you, the chance that it could go to someone who wants to replace a lost or broken genuine clasp or the chance that the buyer will use it for fraud. It may help to remember that you can't take responsibility for anyone else's actions.

If you like the clasp, you could just keep it and wear it. If you put it on a strand of beads that are obviously not pearls, there shouldn't be much risk of the necklace being misunderstood or misused in the future. It's depends on your own esthetic--if authenticity is important to you, then of course don't do it. If you're ok with putting things together because you love the result, do it and be at peace with your decision.

I'm not a Mikimoto owner or expert, just an interested pearl lover. I've read that Mikimoto used sterling clasps in the sixties. Please let us know if you get any information from Mikimoto.

 

[Caitlin]

The problem with Mikimoto pearls is that all that can be certified as genuine, once they have been sold the first time, is the clasp, unless you have the certificate too and it has a really good photo of the flaws on the original strand.

Perhaps you could find out what grade pearls were used with that clasp and replace them. You could disclose what they are is a miki clasp with quality substitute pearls (and I would try to use the original quality) and sell them with the quality of the pearls defined.

Then again, once it goes out the door, only the clasp can be authenticated.

That is a huge problem for pearls that depend on the brand name for their value.

One would be foolish to expect anything else buying a brand name Miki second hand.
Besides, the reason the pearls are missing is probably because they were worn or old looking, even cracked, if kept in a safe, for instance.

Far better to buy pearls by their quality, not their brand. Besides, not all of Miki's pearls are anything near exquisite to begin with- there aren't enough of those to meet the demand and most everyone else is selling the same grades of pearls as Mikis when it comes to the even slightly lower-valued pearls.

Of course you could replace with inferior pearls and sell them as Mikis too and I am sure that has been done, but I don't think it is very common, and once the new "brand name grabber" gets the clasp, the pearls can be substituted, again.

Personally, I have no respect for the value of brand names, resold or not, nor would I use a genuine clasp with any quality pearls to keep up with the Jones or Kardashes or whomever! But so many others NEED to do it and have no insight into the shallowness of their preoccupations.

Why should anyone protect Mikimoto's brand name for him? Ridiculous!

What you have is a miki clasp, or not. Do as you wish with it- it is no longer provable as an authentic product, no matter what. And if people need to use it to inflate their sense of self worth, it is not your problem.

OK you ethics-freaks go to town on that one, LOL!

 

[Caitlin]

BTW Express your opinion, freely. I am done. I think I expressed my POV perfectly and do not need to add to it or defend it. I won't argue with anyone about their opinion, either.

Have at it.

We each have a right to our opinion without having to try to convince someone to change their opinion.

 

[Caitlin]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Authentic-N...16330?pt=Designer_Jewelry&hash=item3f1a612f2a

 

[ChrisF]

Thanks everyone, I knew it was a contentious topic, but really appreciate ALL the different view points.
and the price of that clasp is astonishing ...I will watch it !!
I will do some more research.
And I will seriously think about buying myself some good pearls to attach to the clasp and enjoy.
Thanks again
Chris

 

[Caitlin]

I was surprised myself. I was looking for something else when I saw it. What it will sell for is something else.

 

[Honey_and_Lemon]

Thanks everyone, I knew it was a contentious topic, but really appreciate ALL the different view points.
and the price of that clasp is astonishing ...I will watch it !!
I will do some more research.
And I will seriously think about buying myself some good pearls to attach to the clasp and enjoy.
Thanks again
Chris

Don't forget that people put up lots of junk on ebay at high prices. Personally, I'd much rather have an authentic tiffany X clasp.

Anyways, that clasp was originally for a double strand of pearls, almost certainly akoya's with a smooth "high and tight" lustre and rose overtone, probably 6.5-7mm.

Pearl paradise sells loose pearls by the inch. So you can pick the akoya pearls you want at the appropriate size/lengths. Keep in mind that the knotting add's about an inch, and the clasp adds an inch as well. For a double strand you'll be wanting the lengths to be 17 inches for the inner strand, and 18 for the outer.

http://www.pearlparadise.com/Loose-P...e-Inch340.aspx

I'm admittedly quite partial to black akoya's, the black pearls can be quite striking on ladies with a fair complexion.

http://www.pearlparadise.com/ByTheIn...l-Hank206.aspx

 

[Mary Montpezat]

Thanks everyone, I knew it was a contentious topic, but really appreciate ALL the different view points.
and the price of that clasp is astonishing ...I will watch it !!
I will do some more research.
And I will seriously think about buying myself some good pearls to attach to the clasp and enjoy.
Thanks again
Chris

Hmmm - the price is not so astonishing - as you initially flagged - when you consider that it could raise the value of some cheap pearls in the hands of an unethical seller by a couple of thousand dollars ... thanks for considering the buyer at the end of a sell/buy/restring/sell process! Kudos to you Chris!

 

[lilliefuzzysocks]

It appears this Mikimoto double strand necklace was "worked on " by someone with a Mikimoto clasp and some pearls.... Three strand clasp with white pearl, now has some baroque silver pearls and only two strands. Interesting the seller is selling them as Mikimoto, and NEW.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/887-14-Miki...30120?pt=Designer_Jewelry&hash=item256caae948

 

[Caitlin]

Good call. That is rather disgusting actually......

The size of those pearls would not even accommodate three strands! I bet it will be one of those strands that stays up forever. I always go to "list by most expensive first". Some good stuff is to be found, and some really shoddy stuff, but they are all way high priced. If the sellers were authentic and wanted to sell, the way to go is auction, not eBay- and the final prices would be unlikely to reach what they want on eBay.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

That Miki 3-strand clasp clasp with the 2 strands of baroque silver-gray pearls is really outrageous.

The seller has revised the listing and now calls them "pre-owned", but how he can say they are Miki pearls is beyond me, since it perfectly obvious that the pearls cannot be the ones that came originally with the clasp.

 

[Caitlin]

He is really blatant, isn't he? I doubt there is anyone dumb enough to buy at that price. The pearls aren't very pretty at all. Bad choice. He probably bought it that way and never noticed. That is like something out of "storage wars".

Those overpriced jewels on eBay practically never sell. I have had some things on "Watch" for over a year because they were impossibly high priced and nothing ever did sell. Like a Tahitian keshi medium size- like Pattye's- for $5k.