Fine Jewelry
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| Fine Jewelry |
Coro covered all the bases: as both innovator and imitator, the company was attuned to the market and produced a vast range of quality jewelry that addressed every fashion and every pocket, from dime-store pieces to top-end treasures.
Coro was established in 1900
as Cohn & Rosenberger, a boutique selling outsourced designer jewelry. The
company reached its zenith in the 1930s, after opening a factory in Providence,
Rhode Island, to manufacture its products. It eventually employed around 3,500
staff.
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| Fine Jewelry |
The Coro brand was synonymous with well-made lower- and
mid- priced pieces reflecting the latest fashions. By the mid-1930s, Coro had
retail stores in many US cities, and factories in Britain and Canada as well
as the United States: its diversity and volume of output made it the world's
largest costume jewelry manufactory.
The company also had a range of upmarket brands, Corocraft
being the best known. Corocraft products were high quality and featured
expensive materials, such as sterling silver and crystal rhinestones from
Europe.
The Vendome line, introduced in 1944, was its most exclusive label and
was so successful the brand became a subsidiary of the firm in 1953. Coro's
sets for Vendome arc in great demand. Pegasus was another Coro brand, but it is
not as collectable as the "Duettes" or Vendome pieces.
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However, the success of Coro &
Corocraft cannot be attributed solely to the company's market presence. It was
also due to the talent of its designers: "Franyois," Robert Geissman,
Oscar Placco, Massa Raimond, Gene Verecchio, and Albert Weiss.
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In 1924, the highly creative Adolph Katz joined as design
director. I lis design style was delightfully whimsical, and his talent made a
huge contribution to the company's success.
He was responsible for the delicate en tremblant floral pins, featuring elements that "tremble"
and move, and his "Jelly Bellies" and other animal pins arc avidly
collected.
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From the 1930s to the 1950s, "Jelly Belly" pins were all
the rage: they featured a stone—often colored-glass cabochons or Lucite—in the
center to represent the animal's belly.
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Lucite, a plastic, was developed by DuPont in 1937 and proved an effective substitute for a range of rock crystals, such as chalcedony and moonstone. Lucite was quickly adopted by many costume jewelers, and Coro mainly used it in its translucent white form for "Jelly Belly" pins.
Fine Jewelry
Lucite, a plastic, was developed by DuPont in 1937 and proved an effective substitute for a range of rock crystals, such as chalcedony and moonstone. Lucite was quickly adopted by many costume jewelers, and Coro mainly used it in its translucent white form for "Jelly Belly" pins.
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| Fine Jewelry |
The skills of jeweler's son Gene Y'crecchio
("Verri"), who joined the firm in the 1930s, swiftly took him to the
position of chief designer, which he held for 33 years. 1 lis key pieces
include the "Camellia Duette," the "Owl Duette," the
"Twin Birds Duette," and the "Flower Duettes."
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