New Luxury Jewelry Brand MAIKO. Sharing Maiko’s Fascination & Admiration of Pearls Globally
MAIKO is Pearl FALCO’s new Luxury Pearl Jewelry Brand, founded by Maiko Makito and her team to share the beauty of cultured pearls with the world. With this new MAIKO brand, Pearl FALCO conveys their great admiration of pearls, helping more people appreciate how luxury pearl jewelry can improve the quality of our lives.
The New MAIKO Brand Launches in Singapore
For Maiko, there is nothing quite like the excitement of sharing Japan’s rich and historic tradition of pearl cultivation with Maiko’s adopted home of Singapore. With Singapore as Pearl FALCO’s first and most important milestone on the Asian continent, Pearl FALCO is committed to preserving the heritage of cultured Akoya pearls while simultaneously rejuvenating pearl jewelry design to meet today’s audience. This is the new MAIKO Brand.
Now with her new family here, Maiko strives to give back to Singapore and Asia. Since opening her Singapore Gallery, Maiko has organized Pearl Appreciation Workshops at design schools NAFA, Raffles Design and JDMIS while also hosting online and in-person seminars for people who wish to learn more about Akoya Pearls and the crafting of luxury pearl jewelry.
And now in its 4th Year, Maiko sponsors an annual pearl jewelry competition, “The Grand Prix of Akoya Pearl Jewelry Ise Shima,” attracting designers from all over Asia to share their creativity while raising awareness of the importance and versatility of pearls, focusing on historical and cultural themes that bind us together as a global community.
In addition, Maiko initiated programs like the “Pearl of Hope Project,” a program that provides tuition assistance to underserved children throughout Asia. Through the “Pearl of Hope” educational fund, Maiko wants more underserved children to come to believe that their dreams are attainable.
For Maiko, this is where her admiration for her adopted hometown of Singapore, Pearl FALCO and the Pearl of Hope Project intersect. Keeping Pearl FALCO running smoothly goes beyond selling luxury pearl jewelry. It is also about supporting our local communities and sharing our passion for enabling the educational aspirations of children throughout Asia.
The New MAIKO Brand Is Where Legacy Meets Innovation
“Familiar, Love and Confidence.” Pearl FALCO continues to stay true to its original motto, while looking to opportunities for innovation. The new MAIKO Brand will play a powerful role in this exploration.
Since inception, Pearl FALCO has prided itself as being a leader in crafting luxury pearl jewelry designs with the utmost devotion and attention to detail. One-of-a-kind works of art meant to be shared with your beloved who are here with you now, and maybe even for those you have yet to meet.
The new MAIKO Brand shares inspiration from the natural world. Nature is a classic time-tested narrative that provides comfort and inspiration celebrating eternal hope. The new MAIKO Brand Works are meant to give subtle comfort and joy with fresh new designs.
Maiko believes that people bring happiness to themselves and others through their interpersonal relationships, and pearls help enhance beauty in people in a wonderfully natural and timeless manner. We are excited to present the new MAIKO Brand as a bridge to nourish the eternal human bond reflected in jewelry by Pearl FALCO.
Pearl FALCO. From Ise Shima to the World
Pearl FALCO continues to strive to showcase the beauty of cultured pearls and how they are an expression of self-adornment. However, as a modest, decades-old traditional family business from Ise Shima Japan, the last few years laid bare how continued success into the future was by no means guaranteed.
For the last several years, Pearl FALCO was already experiencing challenges as the Japanese economy continued to struggle along with the Japanese population in decline. And then when COVID-19 arrived, travel restrictions were imposed on Ise Shima, the challenges for all of us grew even greater almost overnight. The original Pearl FALCO business model required major restructuring and Maiko needed to make some robust and radical decisions to keep the business afloat.
Maiko describes how one of the “big ideas” that kept her motivated as she took the helm in the early years was her new found awareness of how each Pearl FALCO luxury pearl jewelry design is intricately tied to stories of lifelong love and devotion. Maiko found this core business strength to be among her guiding principles to help in her decision making.
Maiko sees it as crucial to adopt a more globalized approach in order to bridge the gaps of vision and commerce between the world and Ise Shima Japan. While this came with its own challenges as Maiko’s family had a more orthodox approach to the business, Maiko remains keen on pursuing markets beyond Ise Shima Japan.
The pearl industry on Ise Shima is deeply rooted in its historical and cultural past. With the opening of a retail location in Singapore, Maiko remains intent on sharing those aspirational Ise Shima values with her new customers here. The new MAIKO Brand serves to merge historical tradition with innovation.
So We Begin Something New with MAIKO
We think of pearls as art in themselves with each pearl having a different journey with each work of art curated to be part of an individual’s life. For each customer to have a story to tell with each pearl.
Pearl FALCO’s new MAIKO Brand is our commitment to tie a grand historical legacy with innovative designs drawing from nature and our shared human cultural aspirations.
As always, we simply cannot say thank you enough for your continued support! Pearl FALCO is looking forward to sharing more of the MAIKO Brand in the coming weeks and months, and we hope you will join us on this new endeavor.
