Did I find $25 Mikimotos?

[guinea-pig-mafia]

Hello everyone! I am a first time poster but long-time enthusiast of gemstones and jewelry, especially vintage and antique pieces. I am definitely an amateur, especially when it comes to pearls, so I am hoping you can help me identify this find!

• History: I found this string of pearls at a local antique shop yesterday, mixed with a lot of other strings. I pulled it out just because the lustre of the pearls was much superior to the others. I have no idea how long they were there but they were in the bottom of the pile. There is no box or documentation, just the strand. The shop was closing so I paid $25 for them and only after I left looked at the clasp even though I know better!
• Clasp: Am I correct that is the Mikimoto shell stamp? I do not see a metal mark anywhere. See photos front and back. Could that mean a sliver clasp? Or could I be dealing with a counterfeit?
• Length: Measures about 20.5” tip to tip, or 20” not including the clasp. It’s about 9.5” drop when closed (see photos).
• Pearls: They are gritty when rubbed together; I am quite sure they are genuine (I have a 10x loupe I looked them over with as well).
• Size: graduated, ranges between 3.5-7mm (see photos).
• Color: cream, seems to have some pink hues but they are absolutely filthy as you can see in the photos. I have not cleaned them so some of the discoloration is grime (especially on the smaller ones which would have been on the neck more) but I am unsure how much. I have never given pearls a bath before so I am a bit nervous about it, especially since the hardware next to the clasp seems to be corroding (see photos). I fear I won’t be able to get a good feel for color/quality until they are clean. Several places I thought might be damage were grime when I gently rubbed with a cloth on the spot.
• They needed a restringing a few decades ago and the tension is a mess on one side.

Even with all of that I can tell there is lots of lustre and they came alive on my skin wearing them briefly.

I would appreciate any insight on what I have and/or advice on how best to proceed in cleaning them up and caring for them. I am happy to provide more pictures or information- just let me know! Thank you in advance for your help!

 

[Pearl Dreams]

The size range is characteristic of "3.5 momme" or just "momme" necklaces (momme being a unit of weight.) These were sold in Japan during WWII/Korean War era. They were popular purchases among people working in the Asian war theater; men would buy them and send them home to their sweethearts. Because they were graduated, they were not expensive (pearls are sold by weight.)

Now that that generation is dying out, often the heirs don't know what the necklaces are worth or what to do with them, especially when they were much-worn/much loved-- grimy, loose thread, discolored from long exposure to skin oils, lotions, pollution etc., and needing a bath and restringing (which can be costly if you have to pay to have it done). In addition, these petite graduated necklaces are not the current style. Nowadays the fashion is for somewhat larger strands that are a straight size (i.e. all the pearls fall within 0.5mm of each other, e.g. 6.5mm-7.0mm or 7.0mm-7.5mm).

This is why these momme necklaces are showing up in thrift stores and consignment shops. I found 2 such necklaces-- one for $5, one for $12. Both were grimy and needed restringing. I saved money by doing the restringing myself and urge you to do that! It's not hard at all.
Here is my tutorial:

Stringing Tutorial with photos: Stringing on Serafil, Beaders Secret & Power Pro

How to string (or restring) your pearls on doubled Pattye's Serafil, Beaders Secret, and Power Pro This is not hard-- really! It is harder to describe it than to do it. Anyone can learn to string their own pearls! If after reading through this, it sounds too daunting, I suggest making a...

www.pearl-guide.com

I've thought more about whether the clasp is original, given that the clasp pearl is whiter than the rest of the necklace. It could be Mikimoto brand, given the shell mark. The clasp looks like silver with tarnish. If you didn't find a metal mark even on the tongue, perhaps cleaning the tarnish with a silver cleaning cloth may reveal a metal mark elsewhere on the clasp. But at the end of the day, I don't think the brand actually matters-- unless you bought them to sell them. You have a nice strand of akoyas that you can wear and enjoy.

The necklace will shorten when you restring it. If you like, you can restring the traditional Japanese way, just making knots between the end 3 or 4 pearls and no knots for the rest of the necklace. It will drape just fine, and may be a length that suits you more.

To give them a bath: put some warm distilled water in a bowl and swish some mild soap in it (not "washing up liquid" or as we call it in the US, hand dishwashing soap.) I recommend distilled water to avoid both chlorine and hard water minerals that can interact with soap to form a terrible sticky scum. (Our well water is hard, so I know!) Let them sit in that soapy water 15 minutes or so to loosen the grime. Wipe the grime off with a soft cloth, soft brush (an eyebrow brush can get between the pearls) or a cotton swab. Rinse in fresh distilled water. Lay the necklace to dry on a soft clean towel about 24 hours (the silk inside the drill hole takes longer to dry.)

Then restring. If there is grime inside the drill holes, I find you can clean that out by running a fine needle with white cotton thread through the pearls, after you cut them apart prior to restringing.

Congratulations on a great buy, and I hope you do restring them to wear. If you do, I hope you will post followup photos of the finished necklace!

 

[pattye]

Wow, a lovely strand; looks like the real deal to me. Congratulations! Many pearl lovers have learned to string their own pearls using Pearl Dream's awesome, detailed tutorial!

 

[guinea-pig-mafia]

Wow, a lovely strand; looks like the real deal to me. Congratulations! Many pearl lovers have learned to string their own pearls using Pearl Dream's awesome, detailed tutorial!

Thank you so much! The tutorial really is excellent; I think I'll take the plunge and try it! I have seen so many people on this forum recommend your etsy shop as the place to get materials. I just placed an order for a kit there! I put a note so you know which order is mine. If you have any thoughts or recommendations for what would be right for this project, I definitely trust your judgment! Thanks again!

 

[guinea-pig-mafia]

The size range is characteristic of "3.5 momme" or just "momme" necklaces (momme being a unit of weight.) These were sold in Japan during WWII/Korean War era. They were popular purchases among people working in the Asian war theater; men would buy them and send them home to their sweethearts. Because they were graduated, they were not expensive (pearls are sold by weight.)

Now that that generation is dying out, often the heirs don't know what the necklaces are worth or what to do with them, especially when they were much-worn/much loved-- grimy, loose thread, discolored from long exposure to skin oils, lotions, pollution etc., and needing a bath and restringing (which can be costly if you have to pay to have it done). In addition, these petite graduated necklaces are not the current style. Nowadays the fashion is for somewhat larger strands that are a straight size (i.e. all the pearls fall within 0.5mm of each other, e.g. 6.5mm-7.0mm or 7.0mm-7.5mm).

This is why these momme necklaces are showing up in thrift stores and consignment shops. I found 2 such necklaces-- one for $5, one for $12. Both were grimy and needed restringing. I saved money by doing the restringing myself and urge you to do that! It's not hard at all.
Here is my tutorial:

Stringing Tutorial with photos: Stringing on Serafil, Beaders Secret & Power Pro

How to string (or restring) your pearls on doubled Pattye's Serafil, Beaders Secret, and Power Pro This is not hard-- really! It is harder to describe it than to do it. Anyone can learn to string their own pearls! If after reading through this, it sounds too daunting, I suggest making a...

www.pearl-guide.com

I've thought more about whether the clasp is original, given that the clasp pearl is whiter than the rest of the necklace. It could be Mikimoto brand, given the shell mark. The clasp looks like silver with tarnish. If you didn't find a metal mark even on the tongue, perhaps cleaning the tarnish with a silver cleaning cloth may reveal a metal mark elsewhere on the clasp. But at the end of the day, I don't think the brand actually matters-- unless you bought them to sell them. You have a nice strand of akoyas that you can wear and enjoy.

The necklace will shorten when you restring it. If you like, you can restring the traditional Japanese way, just making knots between the end 3 or 4 pearls and no knots for the rest of the necklace. It will drape just fine, and may be a length that suits you more.

To give them a bath: put some warm distilled water in a bowl and swish some mild soap in it (not "washing up liquid" or as we call it in the US, hand dishwashing soap.) I recommend distilled water to avoid both chlorine and hard water minerals that can interact with soap to form a terrible sticky scum. (Our well water is hard, so I know!) Let them sit in that soapy water 15 minutes or so to loosen the grime. Wipe the grime off with a soft cloth, soft brush (an eyebrow brush can get between the pearls) or a cotton swab. Rinse in fresh distilled water. Lay the necklace to dry on a soft clean towel about 24 hours (the silk inside the drill hole takes longer to dry.)

Then restring. If there is grime inside the drill holes, I find you can clean that out by running a fine needle with white cotton thread through the pearls, after you cut them apart prior to restringing.

Congratulations on a great buy, and I hope you do restring them to wear. If you do, I hope you will post followup photos of the finished necklace!

Oh wow- thank you so much for this lovely, detailed response! I knew a little of the history of such strands, as my mother has a strand very like this from her own grandmother with just such a story. I always admired it so I’m delighted to have my own. One of the things I love about jewelry is how it is such a part of living history.

I followed your excellent guidance for washing them tonight and has made a remarkable difference! I will take a picture in the daylight so you can see. The water was so cloudy and gross! I suspect they will benefit from another washing now that the gunk is loosened up. I plan to do that before re-stringing with the cotton thread trick you mentioned. The pearls are a much closer match to one another now, I think the color would be described as ivory with pink overtones- very pretty whatever they are. I think your original hypothesis was correct though that these are likely not the original pearls. The match in color within the strand is a little too variable for what I know of Miki standards, even for what was meant to be an affordable piece like this one, as well as the clasp match you pointed out. There is still no sign of any metal mark even after the cleaning. Do you (or anyone else!) know if there is there any resource or database of Miki clasps? That would be such a neat project and so useful.

I think I will try my hand at re-stringing them as you suggest! I have been a long-time beadcraft hobbyist so I am hopeful I can learn the skills. It is just a bit intimidating cutting up something so lovely and precious! The wonderful tutorial you posted really takes a lot of the mystery and anxiety out of it. Besides, pearls deserve to be worn. That’s why I bought them to begin with! I think I will attempt to knot between each pearl; I actually like the longer length and won’t be sad at all if it stays closer to that once the process is done. Longer lengths tend to flatter me better, I think. I’ll be happy with whatever it wants to be though. I will definitely post pictures of the washed pearls and the finished strand! Thank you again for taking the time to guide me and answer all my questions; I really appreciate it and can’t wait to try everything and report back!

 

[Pearl Dreams]

I'm excited for you! I think you will do just fine learning to knot. If for any reason you aren't satisfied with your initial efforts, cut them apart and try again.

I think these old, much-worn necklaces are so romantic. Someone gave the necklace to a special woman they loved, and that woman wore it for years and years. Eventually it finds its way to someone new to love and wear it.
Pearls are really special.

Also-- these old strands often had thick nacre, which is why they still look lustrous and beautiful even after having been worn so much.

There is a book that I find myself picking up and reading over and over, which you may also enjoy. It's People & Pearls: The Magic Endures by Ki Hackney and Diana Edkins. Not hard to find nor expensive. The accounts of various people's (mostly women) relationships with pearls and what they meant to them are fascinating and relatable. Sometimes very poignant (the 4 Romanov daughters) and sometimes even a bit funny (Nan Kempner's account on pp.94-95). And it's full of great photos!

 

[BWeaves]

I've never seen that particular clasp before, but it looks like it might be genuine to me. The pearls look lovely. Please post again when you've given them a bath and restrung them. I bet they'll be gorgeous.

 

[guinea-pig-mafia]

Thank you all so much! Pearl Dreams, I love to read so I have added that book to my wish list! It sounds great!

Here is a picture of the tongue of the clasp back/front, as well as a picture of the whole strand post-bath #1; this picture shows the color most like what they look like to my eye in life now! I am so excited to get them even cleaner and strung and will definitely post some glam shots (lol) after her spa day is complete! I'm also going to loop back to the shop I found her in this weekend and see if there are any other unloved and unrecognized lovelies hiding there. You all may have started something! Thanks again!

 

[Pearl Dreams]

The bath definitely improved them! I think the clasp is original.
I have sometimes seen a metal mark along the thin edge of a clasp. Take a look there.
It's also possible the tongue is a replacement, if the original broke with much use.

 

[BWeaves]

Why do my antique shops never have these treasures?

 

[guinea-pig-mafia]

Small update: Pearl Dreams, I agree the bath did wonders! I've also worn them a bit more (just sitting around the house since the thread is so questionable) and they have woken up so much! Now that they look more like themselves they really do look like they belong to the clasp and are true Mikis. I feel like pearls are like people; how you treat them transforms them!

I did check the clasp again along the edge (and everywhere else!) with no luck on a metal mark, but I did some digging online, and apparently silver Miki clasps made before 1975 didn't always have a mark. The clasp is pretty clearly silver and I think it is very likely this clasp is indeed older than that based on the few others I have found like it online, all of which were being sold as Mikis. It is possible the tongue was replaced but it does look pretty similar to other tongues I see so I think there is a decent chance it may be original. I may try emailing Mikimoto and just asking what they can tell me; I gather their service is wonderful as they really care about maintaining the image of their brand. I'll definitely update as this seems like the sort of info that is useful!

An aside: Has this forum considered having a sister/supporting Wiki? It seems like with all the expertise and the many people here we could make a really fantastic one just with people who are willing to share their pieces and the data they have on them, to say nothing of the great general info already in the education section! I'd be willing to help set that up if that's something the admins/community feel would be of value.

I also went back to the shop I found my strand at and lo and behold I think I found a second strand! This one has a silver metal mark but no Miki stamp, but it does look like some of the old claps I have seen being sold as Mikis. According to more digging, some of the older momme strands intended to be most affordable for servicemen during the American occupation were this way- more to possibly confirm with Mikimoto themselves. The thread broke during cleaning (!) and they were strung with no knots at all- not even the first/last few pearls like Japanese style (possibly a home job restring?) so to avoid losing any pearls I will post pictures in a new post as soon as I get them strung on some cotton for cleaning part 2! Stay tuned!