PHOTO: MIKIMOTO (AMERICA) CO. LTD.

After Kokichi Mikimoto succeeded in growing the first semispherical cultured pearls, the renowned entrepreneur displayed them at a marine-products expo in Norway before opening a string of stores from London to Los Angeles. To further show off his company's world-leading expertise in cultivating pearls, Mikimoto displayed a pearl-studded replica of the Liberty Bell one-third the original size at the 1939-40 New York World's Fair. Called the Million Dollar Bell, the patriotic icon was adorned with 12,250 pearls and 366 diamonds, with its famous crack fashioned using blue pearls.