Costume Jewelry maker
Coro marks
Emanuel Cohn and Carl Rosenberger started the business in New York around 1901, first selling jewelry made by others; it was incorporated in 1913.
- Active
- c. 1901–1979
- Based in
- New York, New York (factory in Providence, Rhode Island), United States
- Marks listed
- 13
- Typical pieces
- brooches, duettes (clip pairs), jelly belly brooches, necklaces
The marks, by date
Each mark’s wording is written out as a transcription: the words and line breaks, not a picture of the mark. Where a source describes a mark instead of quoting it, the description is shown in italics.
Where: back of piece
RCJ: Coro script at angle, 1919.
Where: back of piece
Where: back of piece
Pegasus (winged horse) figure alone; RCJ gives 1939, DeMarc says first used June 1945.
Where: back of piece
RCJ: sterling prior to 1950.
Where: back of piece
Where: back of piece
Where: back of piece
Where: back of piece
Where: back of piece
Where: back of piece
Where: back of piece / on clasp
Where: back of piece / on clasp
Where: back of piece
History
The firm ran a large factory in Providence, Rhode Island, and took the name Coro, from the first letters of the two surnames, in 1943. Corocraft, Francois and Vendome were its higher-end lines. The family sold the U.S. business to Richton International in 1969, U.S. operations ended by 1979, and a Canadian division kept the name into the early 1990s.
Dating clues
- The Coro name was used as a mark from 1919, though the company only took it as its corporate name in 1943.
- CoroCraft sterling pieces date to the 1940s; RCJ says Corocraft was sterling before 1950.
- A copyright symbol with Vendome indicates after 1955.
- Duettes (two clips on a bracket that forms one brooch) were first patented in 1935.
Look-alikes and reproductions
- Some Coro designs, notably the Rock Fish brooch, have been reproduced, and some copies are good (Antique Trader).
Other names on the marks
Cohn & Rosenberger; Coro, Inc.; Corocraft; CoroCraft; Vendome; Francois
Where sources disagree: Pegasus mark first use: 1939 (RCJ) vs June 1945 (DeMarc). Providence factory date: 1911 (RCJ) vs 1929 (Wikipedia, Antique Trader). Vendome end date: 1970 (RCJ, Antique Trader) vs 1979 (search-result text). Vendome has no entry of its own in RCJ (the V page only says 'See CORO'), so its marks are recorded here.
Sources
Marks help identify a maker and a date range, but they can’t prove a piece is genuine. Reproductions and later reissues can carry old marks. This entry isn’t an appraisal.