An ode to the past and present of Tasaki’s pearls
Writer Maria Doulton collaborates with the Japanese pearl brand on Tasaki: Balance, a new book that marks 70 years of daring and creativity.
By Rachael Taylor
The biggest lesson Maria Doulton learned when writing her first book, Tasaki: Balance, is “that I can write a book,” she jests.
The journalist and co-founder of popular online jewellery magazine The Jewellery Editor, hosted an intimate afternoon tea at the Tasaki store on London’s Bond Street this month to celebrate the launch of the book, which was commissioned to mark 70 years of the Japanese pearl brand and 20 years of its Balance collection.
Doulton continues to joke as she recalls two more vital pearls of wisdom picked up along the way: “How to say ‘she is a good lawyer’ and ‘the elephant needs water’ [in Japanese]. Absolutely key if you're going to Tokyo, in my opinion.”
Tasaki: Balance author Maria Doulton.
Stepping into Tasaki’s world
As to why she needed these particular phrases remains a mystery, but she did lean on her Duo Lingo app in preparation for a research trip to Japan ahead of writing the book. It proved to be an eye opener.
“I went to Kobe, to the manufacturing facility, where there's a room, north facing, absolutely silent, and they have white cloths on the counters and pearl sorters meticulously going through each pearl, and all you can hear is click, click, click…” she recalls. “It is quite amazing.”
Her next stop was Tasaki’s diamond cutting and polishing department. The pearl jeweller cuts and polishes all of its own diamonds from rough, which Doulton believes must set it apart in the world of luxury brands. “It is a risk that most jewellers wouldn't take,” she says. “They'd leave it to the diamond dealers, but [Tasaki] do it, to higher standards and to their own specifications.”
A Tasaki pearl farm in Japan.
Daring to be different
Not to trawl the pearl puns, but in writing this book Doulton was able to have a “deep dive” into the heritage of Tasaki, and what she found was “a jeweller like no other”. One with a rich history that seeded in Japan, but has grown to have global influence.
“I think what defines Tasaki is being daring,” she says. “Originality and daring, even though they have such close roots to nature.”
Doulton closed the formalities of the afternoon tea with a reading from her book, Tasaki: Balance. The extract she chose is below.
A jeweller adds the final pearl to a Tasaki Balance ring.
An excerpt from Tasaki: Balance
By Maria Doulton
Most jewellery designs are not daring. When working with precious materials that will outlive the wearer, daring isn't top of mind; even less so when it comes to pearls and diamonds, the king and queen of the gem world.
Pearls hold a special significance in our consciousness, perhaps because fishing is as old as man, and pearls were our first treasures. Ever since, we have treated pearls with reverence.
Diamonds on the other hand, are time travellers. Formed of pure carbon, the common element of all organic matter, including ourselves, diamonds are glittering reminders of the origins of the universe.
It requires a clear vision, and steadfast belief in the power of design, to dare to commit to a moment. To capture an energy in the streets, a feeling in the air, to crystallise a mood, a shift in attitudes, or the excitement of an electrifying new artist is to believe in that moment. So, you could say that to be daring is a form of optimism. Desiring the present of the nostalgia for a romanticised past.
A brilliant jewel is one that can capture a moment for immortality, and with shimmering persistence, take us back to the moment of its creation. Choosing to treasure immediacy is a conscious decision, one that dares to believe in a brighter future.
Tasaki: Balance is written by Maria Doulton and published by Rizzoli. Discover where to purchase a copy here
