Vintage Japanese jewelry – like this elegant 1980s platinum, gold, sapphire and diamond brooch by Ito Hiroaki – is quickly finding an enthusiastic audience among jewelry lovers.
Vintage Japanese jewelry is sometimes overlooked by fine jewelry connoisseurs. I should know because for a long time I was one of the collectors doing the overlooking. Then, as I was browsing eBay a few months ago I unexpectedly fell in love. I had stumbled upon an exquisite 1980s Japanese brooch of superb workmanship and quality.
But before I talk about that, let’s take a brief detour through the history of Japanese jewelry.
For most of its history, Japan did not have jewelry in a modern sense. They did have ornamental objects crafted from precious materials, but these were nearly always functional items that had evolved to take on a broader prestige role in society. Examples include women’s hair pins and hair combs, koshirae (samurai sword fittings) and inro (hard-cased wallets meant to be worn with a kimono). Western jewelry forms such as earrings, pendants, bracelets or rings were nearly unknown in Japan during this time.
All of this changed once Japan ended feudalism and opened up to the broader world after the 1850s. The island nation was suddenly flooded with foreign ideas and influences. Western style jewelry was one of these new concepts. And although it took a few decades to get started, by the late 19th century Japanese craftsman had begun experimenting with jewelry as we understand it today.
The house of Mikimoto is perhaps the best known creator of vintage Japanese jewelry. Its founder, Kikuchi Mikimoto, created the first cultured pearl in 1893. He then opened a retail shop to sell his pearl jewelry in 1900. He also sent his artisans to Europe to study the latest advancements in jewelry making styles and techniques. His eponymous firm quickly became the largest pearl jewelry company in the world.
Japanese militarism in the 1930s and then World War II in the 1940s largely interrupted jewelry production, making Japanese pieces from this time period scarce. Likewise, Japan was still recovering from the devastation of the war throughout the 1950s. As a result, fine jewelry production at scale only really resumed in the 1960s, accelerating dramatically during the 1970s and 1980s to match the red-hot Japanese economy of the time. Therefore, most of the vintage Japanese jewelry you will find in the marketplace today dates from the 1960s or later.
In addition to Mikimoto, there are a handful of other well known vintage Japanese jewelry houses. Founded in 1954, Tasaki is a pearl-centric firm that produces excellent quality jewelry. Kyoto based atelier Niwaka has been creating treasures in gold and gemstones since 1983. Japanese Jeweler Ponte Vecchio had its origins in 1981 and is best known for its delicate, playful style.
There are also a number of smaller independent Japanese jewelry studios in addition to those listed above. A short (but not exhaustive) list of these artistic luminaries includes: Nobuko Ishikawa, Ito Hiroaki, Sachi Fukuhara, Koji Iwakura, Shunichi Tamura, Keiko Ikeda, Mitsuo Kaji and Ayano Kanazawa. Vintage jewelry produced by these independents will tend to be a bit more adventuresome compared to the larger Japanese jewelry firms.
Japanese craftsmen are renowned as masters of the miniature, possessing excellent attention to detail. This defining national characteristic is reflected in their jewelry making, which is often both precise in execution and striking in design. In any case, Japanese fine jewelry is almost always of the highest quality, with clean metal work and quality materials.
Organic or natural themes – leaves, flowers, insects, fruits, animals, etc. – are ubiquitous among vintage Japanese jewelry. Keeping in line with the Modernist ethos that has dominated jewelry design from circa 1960 to the present, simple geometric or abstract elements are also commonly encountered. You’ll sometimes find traditional Japanese metalworking techniques/alloys such as shakudō (a dark-patinaed copper-gold alloy) or mokume-gane (different metal alloys layered together to create a wood-grain pattern) employed in vintage pieces, too.
Now that we’ve covered Japanese jewelry history, let’s revisit that stunning 1980s Japanese brooch that caught my eye on eBay.
Fabricated in 900 fine platinum and 18 karat yellow gold by respected Japanese jeweler Ito Hiroaki, the brooch features an oval ring with a hanging cluster of cabochon cut sapphire grapes accented by small brilliant-cut diamonds. It is clear at a glance that this vintage Japanese brooch is more a work of art and less a mere piece of jewelry. The workmanship of the brooch is nothing short of exquisite – a fact highlighted by several distinct features of the piece.
Photo Credit: JapanDesigners
These marketing materials show Ito Hiroaki’s rather extravagant “Basic Line” of jewelry from 1985.
The heavy gauge platinum oval ring possesses a uniquely textured surface and is richly festooned with ropes of gold. According to original marketing material from circa 1985, this brooch was part of a suite of jewelry Ito released to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the development of his signature “Mellow Gold” metalsmithing technique.
The luscious grape cluster that sits invitingly at the bottom of the brooch is actually articulated, meaning it moves independently from the main body of the piece. This allows the grape cluster to swing with the movements of the wearer, causing the gemstones to effortlessly reflect any ambient light.
Designing and crafting articulated jewelry is a time consuming process that most jewelry makers avoid. The last time (and only time, to the best of my knowledge) such a technique was in widespread use was during the mid-19th century when tremblers – brooches meant to quiver with the slightest movement – were popular among the wealthy. These trembler brooches were invariably diamond-studded affairs set in lavish silver-topped gold settings. You can just imagine how expensive they were; commoners need not apply.
The bezel set gemstones used in this masterpiece of vintage Japanese jewelry are also top-notch. While not more than about 1/4 carat each, the midnight blue natural sapphire cabochons are of excellent quality: flawless, intensely hued and well-cut. In addition they are perfectly matched for color, clarity and cut – a factor that significantly boosts the value of even seemingly modest stones. Their total weight is also significant at 1.18 carats.
It is meaningful that we know the exact carat weight of the sapphires even though they are still mounted in the piece. This is because Ito Hiroaki was thorough enough to stamp the carat weight of the gems used in the brooch alongside the standard platinum and gold purity hallmarks. This is yet another sign of quality and attention to detail.
The small diamonds that accent the sapphire grape cluster are completely clean and white. It is well known among jewelers that white metals like platinum, palladium and white gold are very unforgiving in regards to the color of any diamonds mounted in them. When slightly yellowish or brownish diamonds are mounted in yellow gold it is hardly noticeable, but such a cost-cutting measure becomes immediately obvious in platinum.
However, there was no such cost-cutting here.
Designer Vintage Japanese Jewelry for Sale on eBay
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It is also notable that the piece drips with sapphires and diamonds and not lesser stones. Back in the 1950s and 1960s, even mid-range fine jewelry heavily relied on the big four gemstones (diamonds, rubies, emeralds and sapphires) to achieve a luxurious appearance. However, by the 1980s (when this brooch was produced) it was more common for jewelers to embrace lower value stones in an attempt to control costs. This led to the rise of peridot, tourmaline, red garnet, blue topaz and other second tier stones in cost-conscious jewelry of the time. Happily, this is much less common in vintage Japanese jewelry where creators like Ito Hiroaki stuck to the highest end materials available.
As a result, this vintage brooch is true extraordinary.
And here’s the best part: I paid less than $1,000 for this fantastic piece. In fact I paid substantially less than $800. Although it was originally listed for $757.05, the seller (Greeber Japan) was having a 15% off sale across their entire eBay store. So I snagged this absolute designer jewel from the mid-1980s for a stunningly low $643.49.
Let’s slow down and think about that price for a moment.
Here is a gorgeous piece of vintage Japanese jewelry from the heyday of Japan’s glorious 1980s cultural apogee. This was the time when Sony and Nintendo ruled the world. This was the time when the Imperial Palace grounds in Tokyo were worth more than all the real estate in California. This was the time when Japanese anime burst onto the international scene with classics like Bubblegum Crisis, Ranma 1/2 and Akira. This was the Japan of perpetual nightlife, over-the-top parties and endless money.
Tokyo during the 1980s represented our glorious cyberpunk future, as shown in this YouTube video compilation:
So why was I able to buy a gem-studded piece of designer vintage Japanese jewelry from this mythical era for less than $700?
One of the things I always do before purchasing a piece of vintage jewelry is calculate its price per gram. I know from experience that if you pay less than $100 per gram for a piece of gem-set, solid karat gold or platinum jewelry, you’ve done well. This rule of thumb excludes low karat gold pieces (like 9 and 10 karat) and very common gemstones such as amethyst, citrine, small pearls and blue topaz. In this case, I paid around $57 per gram.
How is finding a bargain this good even possible? Is the vintage Japanese jewelry market broken?
I have a few theories about that.
First, demand for fine jewelry has been generally suppressed in the developed world ever since the Great Financial Crisis of 2008 – 2009. This is because the world has been living through a depression for the last decade plus. Slow job and wage growth has combined with an ever upward spiraling cost of living to eviscerate most households’ discretionary purchasing power. Fine jewelry purchases must compete with exorbitant rents, utilities, grocery bills and car payments – a battle it rarely wins.
As a result, we still see fairly robust jewelry sales in the sub-$250 price range as most people have moved down-market. Sales in the $10,000 and up luxury price range have also held up because the wealthy are still doing well financially. But fine jewelry in the middle market, priced between approximately $250 and $10,000, has been left for dead – a doughnut hole attributable to the Silent Depression we have all been living through these past years.
Estate Mikimoto, Tasaki, Niwaka & Ponte Vecchio Jewelry for Sale on eBay
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Another reason my vintage Japanese jewelry find was so affordable is that brooches are hopelessly out of fashion right now. There is an entire category of vintage and antique jewelry – brooches, stick pins, tie tacks, hair combs, tiaras and cufflinks – that I call fashion refugees. These are types of jewelry that are rarely worn today because they are out of step with current trends in fashion.
While some of these forms of jewelry will probably never come back into style (tiaras are likely dead forever), I feel very strongly that brooches are an exception. Brooches are one of the five basic jewelry forms alongside rings, bracelets, earrings and necklaces. This alone almost ensures a renaissance for them at some future date.
But for now brooches are the red-headed step-child of the vintage fine jewelry market. Brooches look best on lapels, collars and straps – more formal feminine attire. Today’s extremely informal fashion for sweaters and t-shirts do not play to their strength. That means that there is a healthy supply of vintage pieces on the market and limited demand.
This drives prices down, creating bargains for the discerning vintage Japanese jewelry buff.
Photo Credit: Greeber Japan
This stunning vintage Japanese brooch by designer Nobuko Ishikawa is rendered in platinum, gold, diamonds and chrysoprase.
The third reason my vintage Japanese brooch was so affordable was due to the ridiculously low price of platinum. As I write this, platinum is trading for about $1,000 a troy ounce, which is the exact same price it was selling for back in 2006. That means platinum is priced at same level it was 18 years ago!
Can you name any other precious material that has stagnated in price for so long? Silver is up 154% over that time period. Gold is up around 262%. Even colored gemstones – which have moved sideways in price since 2015 – are still up by 76% from 2006.
Remember, for the entirety of the 20th century and into the beginning of the 21st century platinum had always traded at a premium to gold. It is only within the past 10 years or so that this normal relationship has been inverted. This means that although platinum has traditionally been treated as the very finest of jewelry metals, it has recently been displaced by white gold when a white look is required.
This pricing anomaly in platinum gives jewelry collectors a golden opportunity to buy vintage and antique platinum jewelry for absurdly low prices. And because the Japanese people have a strong affinity for platinum, it is commonly found in higher end vintage Japanese jewelry. So I don’t find it very difficult to envision a future where platinum is once more priced at a premium to gold – with platinum jewelry regaining its ultra luxury status. If this happens, vintage platinum jewelry will adjust upward in price rather quickly and violently.
The final reason for vintage Japanese jewelry being undervalued is really quite unexpected. In the summer of 2024, the Japanese yen – U.S. dollar exchange rate hit a 34-year low of 160 yen to the dollar. The last time the yen was this weak was briefly during 1990 and only on a sustained basis before 1987!
And because Japanese estate jewelry sellers’ costs are priced in yen, it means that your dollar goes further when converted to Japanese yen. Their rent is priced in yen, their labor costs are priced in yen and even their utility costs are priced in yen. As a result, they will often accept a lower dollar price if it gives them a similar or even higher yen price.
Let’s take the 1980s Japanese brooch I purchased as an example. The price of $643.49 translates into just short of ¥103,000, assuming an exchange rate of 160 yen to the dollar. But five years ago during 2019, that same $643.49 would have only been worth about ¥70,000. This is because the yen/dollar exchange ratio was closer to 108 to 1 at the time.
So it’s easy to see how a Japanese seller might be motivated to accept a smaller number of dollars (or euros) today. This gives lovers of vintage Japanese jewelry with access to non-yen hard currencies a special opportunity to buy fine pieces at deep discounts.
It took a confluence of these four factors I just mentioned for me to be able to purchase my exquisite piece of vintage Japanese jewelry at a sub-$1,000 price. There is simply no way the price would have been this low under normal circumstances. In fact, I suspect that if these four factors hadn’t been present, a reasonable price for my brooch would have been somewhere in the $2,500 to $3,000 range.
Now all of this might be a bad thing if you are looking to sell fine vintage Japanese jewelry, but if you are looking to buy it is truly wondrous. I got an insane 75% discount from the fair value of the 1980s Japanese brooch I purchased. And if I find any more great bargains I’ll happily snap them up, too. I’m sure many other smart collectors are looking to do the same.
Fine Jewelry from Greeber Japan for Sale on eBay
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If you are interested in starting or adding to a collection of fine vintage Japanese jewelry I do have a few pointers. Cufflinks and brooches – both fashion refugees – will give you your best bang for the buck. But if you intend to wear the piece you buy, make certain it is a type of jewelry you like. In other words, don’t buy a brooch just because it is cheaper if you hate brooches.
Next, consider purchasing vintage Japanese jewelry that is made out of platinum or mixed karat gold and platinum. Only higher end pieces were fabricated from these metals and you are sure to get a bargain. Of course, 14 karat or higher solid gold jewelry is excellent, too. 18 karat is the most commonly encountered gold alloy in Japan, so purity is rarely a problem. Sterling silver (or mixed sterling and karat gold) is also perfectly acceptable as long as the piece is both impressive and rendered in a good Modernist style.
It is always nice when you can find vintage jewelry set with one or more of the big four gemstones: diamonds, rubies, emeralds or sapphires. I would try to shoot for a minimum total weight of more than 1 carat, with each individual stone weighing at least 10 points. These requirements are harder to meet than you might think at first. But if the piece you love is set with second tier gems (tourmaline, tanzanite, fancy garnet, opal, spinel, jade, etc.) fear not – these can also be excellent finds if the price is right (and the stones are large enough).
Above all, make certain you skew towards quality.
Ideally we want signed pieces that have been painstakingly hand fabricated by a known firm or artist. Always flip the piece over to view the back. It should look almost as good as the front, without any unsightly blobs of metal, rough surfaces, damage or other distracting features. Any vintage Japanese jewelry you consider should simply ooze quality, possessing a combination of high end materials, fine craftsmanship and original design.
Pricing will generally start at $400 per piece, escalating quickly if larger, more valuable gemstones are present.
Vintage Japanese jewelry is one of the great undiscovered bargains of the fine jewelry world right now. And the fact that the Japanese yen is plumbing 40 year lows versus the dollar just makes the deals even sweeter.
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