Mikimoto Pearls
Kokichi Mikimoto, the son of a noodle maker, had achieved entice oysters to produce round pearls on demand.
Few years later, he had received an 1896 patent for producing hemispherical or blister pearls and a 1908 patent for culturing mantle tissue.
However government biologist Tokichi Nishikawra and carpenter Tatsuhei Mise had independently discovered the secret of pearl culturing.
Mise received a 1907 patent for his grafting needle.
When Nishikawa applied for a patent for nucleating, he realized that he and Mise had discovered the same procedure.
They signed an agreement uniting their common discovery as the Mise Nishikawa method, which remains the heart of pearl culturing.
But Mikimoto could not use the Mise Nishikawa method without invalidating his own patents.
So he altered his patent application to cover a technique to make round pearls in mantle tissue, which was granted in 1916.
After that Mikimoto start to success his business, buying rights to the Mise Nishikawa method and trial and error over years by years, he contributed a crucial discovery.
He found he had the highest success rates when he inserted round nuclei cut from U.S. mussel shells.
Even though three of his patents and his secrets make him revolutionized pearling.
He displayed massive pearl structures at every major international exposition.
Today, cultured pearls dominate, both saltwater and freshwater market.