Japanese Jewellery Houses: Mikimoto, Tasaki, Tanaka, Wako, Star Jewelry and Tokyo Silversmiths Compared

The Japan thread

Two threads run through the houses below. The first is Ginza, the Tokyo district where the Hattori shop, the Mikimoto pearl shop and Ginza Tanaka all traded. The second is material: pearls from Mie, platinum and gold refined in Tokyo, and silver worked in the Taito ward by families who have practised the craft for centuries. The Japan Traditional Crafts page on Tokyo silverwork says that the Kinza and Ginza mints helped the craft thrive in Edo.

The houses, one by one

Mikimoto

Kokichi Mikimoto started an oyster farm in Ago Bay in 1888, obtained hemispherical cultured pearls in 1893, and opened a Ginza shop in March 1899. The house is privately held and headquartered in Tokyo. See our full guide to Mikimoto for dates and disputes.

Tasaki

Rapaport reports that Shunsaku Tasaki founded his business in 1954 after growing up on a family pearl farm, and that the house grades up to 20,000 pearls a day. It is known for the Balance collection of 2010 and for Tasaki Atelier, launched in 2017. See our full guide to Tasaki.

Tanaka and Ginza Tanaka

The Tanaka group's history page says the company began in 1885 as Ejimaya Tanaka Shoten, a coin dealer in Tokyo, founded by Umekichi Tanaka. In 1907 it recovered platinum from discarded light bulbs and began making platinum wire. In 1978 it became the first Japanese company accredited by the London Bullion Market Association as a refiner and assayer, and in 2012 the first Japanese full member. The retail side has a separate line: Kamekichi Yamazaki opened Shimizu Shoten in Nihonbashi in 1892, which later became Yamazaki Shoten, moved to Ginza in 1926, passed under Tanaka management in 1930 and was renamed Ginza Tanaka in 2002. A Japan Times feature describes the Ginza house as making tableware, Buddhist statues and altar fittings in precious metals, and supplying metal to master craftsmen so that their skills continue.

Wako and Hattori

Wikipedia says Kintaro Hattori founded a watch and jewellery shop called K. Hattori in Ginza in 1881; it is now Seiko Group Corporation. A Hattori clock tower stood on the corner from 1894 to 1921, and after the 1923 Great Kanto earthquake the present building, designed by Jin Watanabe in a neoclassical style touched by art deco, was completed in 1932. The retail division separated in 1947 as Wako Co., Ltd., and moved into the building in 1952. Wako is known for watches and jewellery.

Star Jewelry

WWD Japan reports that Star Jewelry was founded in 1946 in Motomachi, Yokohama, with workshops in Japan. It is known for craftsmanship and for customisation, which it has offered for about twenty years. The flagship line accounts for about 92 per cent of sales, and bridal, mainly wedding bands, about 30 per cent of the whole.

Ponte Vecchio

A Japanese brand of this name is known for bridal and romantic jewellery, with stores including Ginza Namiki Dori and Osaka, according to an Openers article. It marked its thirtieth anniversary in October 2017 with a hand-lettered engraving service. Do not confuse it with Ponte Vecchio Gioielli of Florence, a separate firm profiled at the Inhorgenta fair, founded in the 1960s by Ugo Cala; the pages do not state any link between them.

Tokyo silverwork and Nisshin Kikinzoku

The Japan Traditional Crafts page traces Tokyo silversmithing to the mid-Edo period, when shiroganeshi made base materials for metal engravers and kinkoshi made combs, hairpins and shrine fittings. The craft was designated a traditional craft on 12 January 1979. Homo Faber presents Yoshitsugu Kamikawa, the twelfth generation of his family's silversmithing line, working under the artist name Sohaku at Nisshin Kikinzoku in Taito ward, in hammering, inlay, forging and gold leafing. The page gives no founding date for the workshop.

What makes it different

Two facts are rarely stated. A precious-metals group built part of its business on recovering platinum from discarded light bulbs, and the silversmith workshops of Taito have traditionally used recycled silver, according to Homo Faber.

Pieces in our care

Pearl work is gathered in Pearls | The Jewel Box. Houses and fine pieces appear in Fine Jewellery Houses, the wider range in Jewellery, silver in Silver Jewellery, and Japanese gold in Japan Gold Jewelry. Availability by house changes, so please ask our concierge team about a named maker.

Further reading

Two public pages with credit lines:

Where the records disagree

  • When Tanaka began. The group's history page gives 1885. A Japan Times feature of 2019 says the Ginza house has a 127 year history without a founding date, which points to about 1892, the year of the Shimizu Shoten that became its retail line. The two dates describe different parts of the group.
  • When Mikimoto began. A shop date of 1899 is given by Wikipedia and Sotheby's. The Barack Obama Presidential Library page gives 1893.
  • Tasaki's farm. Rapaport dates the family farm to the 1930s; The Jewellery Editor places it in Nagasaki. Neither gives both.
  • Ponte Vecchio. The Japanese brand's founding year is not stated in the page cited, and the Florentine firm of the same name is a separate entity as far as the pages show.

Questions readers ask

Is Wako the same as Seiko?

Wako grew out of the K. Hattori business, now Seiko Group Corporation. Its retail division became Wako Co., Ltd. in 1947.

What is Tanaka best known for?

Precious metals: refining, assaying and craft. In 1978 it became the first Japanese company accredited by the London Bullion Market Association as a refiner and assayer.

Is Japanese silverwork a recognised craft?

Tokyo silverwork was designated a traditional craft on 12 January 1979, according to the Japan Traditional Crafts page.

Which house should I start with for pearls?

Our pearl guides cover Mikimoto, Tasaki and the akoya itself, with the quality terms to look for.

References

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