Mikomoto's Million Dollar Bell

If you like pearls, one of the most interesting places to visit is the Mikimoto Pearl Island from Toba, where you can get in touch with the 2000 years old Japanese pearls tradition. But besides the pearls, its museum also hosts an impressive collection of amazing objects made of gold, platinum, gems and, of course, pearls.

One of the most famous of them is the bell from this photo, a faithful reproduction of the iconic American independence Liberty Bell. Decorated with an incredibly high number of pearls (12,250!), some of which are blue (to mark the bell's distinctive crack), plus 366 diamonds. Known in the history as the "Million Dollar Bell", this bell was displayed at the New York World Exposition in 1939 as a symbol of peace... An unfortunate coincidence though, because the World War II was just getting started...