The complaint for this class action on cultured pearls opens by noting, “In literature, pearls have been integral as symbols for the purity of love and human aspiration.” The defendant is Mikimoto (America) Co. Ltd., which presents itself as a producer of high-quality, high-priced cultured pearls, the complaint alleges, yet offering pearls with too-thin layers of nacre that wear off quickly.
The class for this action is all persons or entities in the US who bought the products at retail during the applicable limitations period, with such subclasses as the court deems appropriate.
Natural pearls occur when some kind of irritant (usually a parasite, the complaint claims) intrudes into an oyster, mussel, or clam. The mollusk then uses a fluid to coat the irritant, which forms the nacre of the pearl.
To create a cultured pearl, a bead or other irritant is deliberately implanted in the mollusk. The complaint quotes a pearl merchant as saying, “Quality cultured pearls require a sufficient amount of time—generally at least 3 years—for a thick layer of nacre to be deposited, resulting in a beautiful, gem-qualify pearl.”
Kokichi Mikimoto, the founder of Mikimoto, is credited by the complaint as inventing the cultured pearl. The company holds itself out as a source of quality pearls. For example, the complaint quotes the Mikimoto America website as saying, “An important factor to look out for is the thickness of the nacre as this determines the pearl’s luster. Only the Akoya cultured pearls with the highest quality and luster can be bestowed with the name ‘Mikimoto Pearl.’”
Unfortunately, the complaint alleges that Mikimoto sells pearls with only a thin layer of nacre. It presents an image of a pearl on a chain which it claims the plaintiff, C.K. Lee, bought as a gift in 2019, but which the complaint says “was returned to him in 2021 because the nacre had worn through to the bead after only a few years of wear.”
The complaint quotes a jewelry historian and lecturer as saying, “Nacre thickness increases beauty and durability of pearls with the ideal thickness being 1 mm.” It quotes a pearl website as saying, “Good quality Akoya pearls should have a nacre thickness of about 10-15% of the diameter of the pearl.”
Lee sent two Mikimoto pearls to be analyzed at the Gemological Institute of America. The pearls were 8.31 mm and 8.28 mm in diameter, respectively. The analysis reported that the thickness of the nacre was 0.41 mm and 0.56 mm, respectively, meaning that it 4.9 and 6.7% of the diameters.
These are larger pearls, but the complaint contends that Mikimoto produces them simply by using larger beads, without allowing them enough time to form an appropriately thick layer of nacre.
The counts include common law fraud and violations of consumer protection laws on false advertising and deceptive and unfair trade practices.
Article Type: LawsuitTopic: Consumer
Most Recent Case Event
Mikimoto Pearls Thin Layers of Nacre on Pearls Complaint
March 7, 2022
The complaint for this class action on cultured pearls opens by noting, “In literature, pearls have been integral as symbols for the purity of love and human aspiration.” The defendant is Mikimoto (America) Co. Ltd., which presents itself as a producer of high-quality, high-priced cultured pearls, the complaint alleges, yet offering pearls with too-thin layers of nacre that wear off quickly.
Mikimoto Pearls Thin Layers of Nacre on Pearls ComplaintCase Event History
Mikimoto Pearls Thin Layers of Nacre on Pearls Complaint
March 7, 2022
The complaint for this class action on cultured pearls opens by noting, “In literature, pearls have been integral as symbols for the purity of love and human aspiration.” The defendant is Mikimoto (America) Co. Ltd., which presents itself as a producer of high-quality, high-priced cultured pearls, the complaint alleges, yet offering pearls with too-thin layers of nacre that wear off quickly.
Mikimoto Pearls Thin Layers of Nacre on Pearls Complaint