The Mikimoto Workshop started off with Japan's first jewelry designer, Kan Fuchie, and a team of six skilled craftsmen. Working in concert with the designer, Mikimoto craftsmen perfected a range of sophisticated techniques such as open work, open wrought gallery, doming, and mille grain settings, producing fine jewelry with a distinctive flair. They reworked their art repeatedly, steadily developing their expressive skill. From broad flowing forms to the most intricate detail, they defined a consistent style of craftsmanship that lives on in Mikimoto's work today. Mikimoto craftsmen face the double challenge of breathing life into their jewelry by creating a dynamic form and working to perfect the refinement of each tiny detail. Shingo Usukura is one of those attracted to this challenge. The designer's plane view drawings are magically transformed by his fertile imagination into a delightfully proportioned object, which then comes to life in his capable hands. Usukura's desire is to create a piece of jewelry that is not only worn with pleasure, but also admired for its qualities as a work of art. Still, he is mindful of the importance of attention to the most minute detail and the appreciation the wearer may feel for that detail. True sensitivity and the experience to create something really pleasing is at the foundation of Mikimoto's style. Usukura says "Fully understanding this style is the prerequisite to one's development as a Mikimoto craftsman." Surely this is the key to the philosophy of Mikimoto craftsmanship.