Mikimoto hallmarks removed???

Q

quiet1p

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Nov 24, 2013
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Has anyone heard of this before? I tried researching it and can not find any info.. During and after WW2, a great number of signed Mikimoto pieces had their hallmarks removed. Some were polished out, and many were hidden under an applied layer of rhodium. This was all done due to war hostilities between Japan and other nations of the world at the time, which continued for some time and the Japanese were trying to recover trade to rebuild after the war.

The reason why I am asking this is, I bought a bowl of bead necklaces for my grand daughters today at a yard sale and they had 2 necklaces separate IMG_9583.jpgIMG_9588.jpgIMG_9591.jpgIMG_9592.jpg and I asked how much they wanted for 1 of them as I loved it and wanted it for myself because of the length.. She said she will just throw it in with the rest of them.. I got home and started researching. I will attach a cpl pics.. It is 68 inches from end to end.. Has 260 pearls on it..
 
Hi there, I've seen sellers who tell this story, and I personally believe it is just that, a story.

When I look at the brooches and clasps where the mark was supposedly removed I see no evidence that marks have been polished out. To polish a piece down to the point where a mark was removed would be a very deep polish, and it would show. The rhodium plate story is nonsense. You couldn't "hide" a hallmark under rhodium plate.

This I believe this is a myth originating from unscrupulous sellers try to pass off average Japanese Akoya pearl jewelry as Mikimotos.

HOWEVER a lot of Japanese Akoya pearl jewelry that is NOT genuine Mikimoto is still quite high quality, but without the Mikimoto branding its re-sale value is quite low.

After the above general comments lets look at your yard sale necklace. It is a beauty!

If those are real cultured pearls (do they pass the "tooth" test?) and not imitation, then you have a real score due to the exceptional length.
68 inches is a double opera length, it is called a rope length, and long enough to go round your neck 4 or 5 times.

So it is a very versatile and impressive length, you could still wear it doubled and knotted.

If they're real cultured pearls, then back in its day (approx 1960-ish) it would've cost a small fortune and been someone's pride and joy.
 
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Very interesting! Thanks kiwipaul. And it would be a real score to get a necklace of that size and age, practically for free. :)
 
I think it highly unlikely that brand markings would be polished out or plated over (plating isn't ever that thick. If you wanted to disguise a brand it would be far simpler simply to change the clasp on a necklace. Can you imagine trying to faff around with brand markings (NOT hallmarks) on a tiny clasp without damaging pearls. I don't think so. This sounds like a bit of snake oil salesmanship.
 
IMG_9630[1].jpgI agree with you all.. I viewed it under a magnifying glass today, and I will post a picture of the back of the clasp.. I don't think they are Mikimoto's. I think I will have to take them to a jeweler to get their opinion if they are real or not.. I have researched and part of me says they are real, part of me says they are not..LOL.. So I guess I will have to leave it up to an expert. But regardless if they are real or not, I plan to keep and wear them as I fell in love with them because of how they looked.. And I did only pay 25 cents for them :D
 
@pearlescence Yes, they are in need of a bad cleaning.. And restringing..

I do know they are knotted in between each pearl... Found that out when i was trying to take some pics last night and i broke the strand.. (Shaking my head) Glad I wore them yesterday...lol.. Also good thing I am a very crafty person so I should be able to restring them myself after researching how to do so today as well.. I also now know that, if they are not real, I will have to invest in a necklace at some point in the near future after all this research I have done...
 
Did you do the tooth test to see if they at least are real nacre? Either rub one pearl gently against your tooth-- or rub one pearl gently against another pearl.

If they feel a bit gritty, it's real nacre-- genuine cultured pearls! If they feel smooth rubbed together, they are fake.

Edit: Gently wipe clean (damp soft cloth) any pearls you do this test with. A dirty surface may not give you the correct results.

Also, see my tutorial on how to re-string!
www.pearl-guide.com

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 www.pearl-guide.com

BTW, I have found that, generally speaking, imitation pearls have larger holes than genuine pearls (Majorica imitation pearls are an exception, as are Swarovski.) If they prove to be imitation, you may very well need a thicker thread than you would for genuine pearls of the same size.
 
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I have not seen Mikimoto use that clasp design. One would assume if the hallmarks had been removed, that it would still be a recognisable Mikimoto clasp design, without hallmarks.
 
So i had 1 pearl off and did the fire test to it.. I know stupid.. But I can not change it now.. This is the results of that test..Heading to the jeweler now..

photo_1.jpgphoto_2.jpgphoto_3.jpgphoto_4.jpg
 
Went to the jewelers and he confirmed that they are real cultured pearls :) he said they have makeup and hairspray on them so they need to be cleaned real bad. Now to find out what they are worth. I am a very proud owner of a strand of pearls for the very 1st time in my life :)
 
Did you read or did someone tell you the Miki hallmarks were removed? Just curious~

How terrific you have genuine cultured pearls and a great story how you got them. The pearls will be lovely cleaned up and you have enough to remove any that are extremely damaged. Lots of info on how to clean pearls under that thread.

Likely the value is somewhere in the hundreds, not thousands. We would need to see photos of the cleaned pearls to evaluate luster and blemishing. Very happy for your great bargain!

The latest photos are not showing up yet~
 
It was something I seen and read on ruby lane.com. I wasn't sure that is why I asked on here... And my clasp looked sorta like the clasp on that site. So I was trying to figure out something on them going by the clasp.
 
@Pearl DreamsThanks!!!!!

I placed an order for the kit about 3 hours ago :) So excited to see them cleaned..
 
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