Can pearls be rebellious? Mikimoto and Chrome Hearts are proving that they can. The two brands have come together for a bold new collection, blending the timeless elegance of Mikimoto pearls with Chrome Hearts’ signature edgy, rock-and-roll aesthetic.
The collaboration’s roots trace back to 2020 when Jesse Jo Stark, the eldest daughter of Chrome Hearts founders Richard and Laurie Stark, was struck by a unique vision. She saw pearls as the perfect symbol of duality—gracing history with their classical beauty, yet brimming with the potential for radical reinvention.
Founded in 1988, Chrome Hearts has carved out a distinctive space in the luxury world, combining luxury with rebellion. Known for its sterling silver jewelry, the brand has grown into a celebrity favorite while retaining an air of exclusivity and individuality. Chrome Hearts products are released on their own schedule, often through word-of-mouth, and typically require an in-person visit to one of their boutiques. The brand’s quirky, custom pieces—including unusual items like sterling silver pencil sharpeners and ebony wood toilet plungers—further set it apart.
For Jesse Jo, the idea of incorporating pearls into Chrome Hearts’ bold, goth-inspired designs was a challenge she embraced. Her vision? To fuse the timeless allure of pearls with the rebellious energy of Chrome Hearts jewelry. But there was one requirement: the pearls had to come from Mikimoto, a name synonymous with the finest cultured pearls in the world. When Jesse Jo floated the idea to her father, Richard Stark, his response was simple: “If it’s pearls, it has to be Mikimoto.”
This led to an introduction to Mikimoto, a Japanese jeweler with a longstanding reputation for creating some of the world’s finest pearls. Both brands spent several years immersing themselves in each other’s creative processes, developing a new aesthetic language that honored both Chrome Hearts’ bold style and Mikimoto’s precision craftsmanship.
The result is a stunning collection of high jewelry and fine jewelry pieces: four high jewelry necklaces and 11 fine jewelry items, including a pendant, a lariat necklace, two pearl strand necklaces, five styles of earrings, a bracelet, and a pin brooch. Each piece blends the iconic motifs of Chrome Hearts—sterling silver crosses, hearts, and fleur-de-lis—with Mikimoto’s immaculate pearls, resulting in an unexpected but perfect fusion of elegance and rebellion.
This groundbreaking collection celebrates the unique spirit of both brands, proving that pearls, once thought of as the epitome of tradition and grace, can indeed be reimagined with an edge.
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