Coro trademark abandoned!

As of January of this year the last remaining "live" Coro trademark has been abandoned. Last owned by FGX International (they make Foster Grant Sunglasses), they have let the trademark for Coro lapse. In recent news I saw that they had plans to sell their jewelry division.

So, at this point, searching "Coro" in the US Trademark listings, shows that all of the jewelry Coro trademarks (just the ones that are exactly the name Coro), are listed as "dead", either expired or abandoned.

Coro white beads - 1953 and 1962

Two ads showing Coro's spring line of white jewelry. One from 1953 and one from 1962. In both ads, the beads are described as "porcelain". It is interesting to see the similarities and differences in the styles almost 10 years apart.

(click pics to enlarge) Left (first) pic is 1953, right (second) pic 1962

Affordable Costume Jewelry?

Looking at the advertised price in 1947 for this pretty CoroCraft pin, I got to thinking that $29.95 must have been pretty expensive in 1947. I wondered just how it would compare in today's prices. Searching the Internet I found a couple of calculators that will let you enter the price in whatever year and convert it to 2009 dollars, taking into account inflation and the CPI. Putting in the price of our little pin, it caclulated that it would cost almost $290 in today's dollars. Wow! Would I spend that much on a "costume jewelry" pin? Granted CoroCraft was the higher end from Coro, but it would have been a real treat to purchase, at least in my budget!

Sytle notes - Bibs in 1949

Seen in a department store ad from 1949 - "not mere costume jewelry but a most important part of the costume. Bold, gold-washed chains..gleaming metallics mail ..or mock pearls fashioned in loops and swirls". They mention that some of the brands they have that feature bibs are Monet, Coro and Trifari. They do not specify which brands are shown in the ad.

click pic to enlarge

Whiting and Davis manufactures for Coro - 1948

Seen in a newspaper ad from May 1948, "Two great designers put a bib on golden mesh...Whiting & Davis.... for Coro"

(click pics to enlarge)

Another ad from October 1949 - unknown if these were also made by Whiting & Davis. In this ad the styles are named: "King Arthur", "Joan of Arc" and "Warrier"

Judith McCann's Wingback earrings - for Coro

In Oct 1949, this ad describes Judith McCann's "revolutionary" Wingback idea for earrings and shows how they work. It also says that she will be at the store to help people adjust their wingback earrings. The ad is titled "Wingback Earrings by Coro"

(click pic to enlarge)

Coro with real gemstones - Topaz and Amethyst

Found in an ad from Sep 1949 - the ad declares that "the law says you can't say real unless they're real". It then shows and describes pieces by Coro with Amethyst and Topaz stones, desribing them as "real, deep, flashing yellow topazes and purple amethysts".

(click pic to enlarge)

Coro Jewelry for Teens - 1965 - "47 West"

In 1965, the Broadway department stores in Los Angeles unveiled a jewelry line created by Coro at the request of the store chain, designed to appeal to teens. The line was part of the "Hi-Deb" department at the stores and the jewelry line was named "47 West". In a press release announcing the new line of jewelry, the Broadway noted that the designs were two years in the making.

The article describes some of the lines included as:

• Greco-Roman design rings, 3 inch key pins and chain pendants
• An outsized wine keeper's key and chain that can be worn as a necklace or belt
• A-line animal pins with satin-toned pewter and brass finishes with a futuristic look (ed: what the heck is an "A-line" pin?)
• Kilt pins with enameled emblems
• Stamps with authentic old hand cancelled stamps that have been shellacked
• Makeup mirrors made to be worn like monacles
• Key chains with cigarette lighters that work
• Zodiac designs

I was able to find one ad with some of the designs included. (click pic to enlarge)

Coro Oceana 1956 - sea shell shapes

Newspaper ad 1956 - Coro Oceana. Colors mentioned are shell pink, coral, sun-yellow and white, set in gold-tone. Blue in silver tone.

(click to enlarge)

Coro and AAi trademarks up for sale

FGX International, which were the most recent owners of the Coro and AAi trademarks, has indicated this spring that they intend to sell their costume jewelry division. The costume jewelry division accounted for just 3.3 percent of sales in a recent report, and they mention that jewelry sales have been declining. FGX is best known for their sunglasses and eyeglasses brands, such as the Foster Grant brand, but they have also carried costume jewelry lines in the past.

On their website, I didn't see a specific description of the brand names of costume jewelry that they sell. But their financial reports indicate that they basically wholesale jewelry to major stores like Walmart and do house brands for various retailers.

A while back, I had discovered that they own the AAi jewelry trademark and checking the trademark listings today, I was reminded that they also own two Coro trademarks! Both the word mark "Coro", and the mark shown below with the pegasus. Both are listed as status: "dead" in the trademark listings.

So, since the trademarks are not current, it is unknown if they will be sold as part of the intellectual property when FGX sells the costume jewelry division. But it seems clear that they will no longer be using those trademarks.

Last fall I contacted them to ask if they had plans to reintroduce Coro as a brand, since they had acquired the trademark. They replied that they did not have any plans at that time. The AAi and Coro trademarks are listed as "dead" with the updated status as of January of 2009. AAi was cancelled. The Coro word mark was abandoned in 2009 and the Coro Pegasus mark expired in 2007.

Additionally, they have used the trademarks "FGX" and "Pure Expressions" for jewelry (according to the US Trademark listings). Pure Expressions is the only trademark for jewelry that is currently listed as "live". But the status for that one hasn't been updated since 2005

Coro - Pop beads - 1956

Newspaper ad from March 1956. Coro's pop beads. Colors mentioned are "spring pastels" and "first in Los Angeles, gold and silver tone"

click to enlarge

Coro - adhere directly to your skin! - 1951

I found this newspaper ad from 1951, it talks about Coro "Glamour Magic", "costume pieces that magically adhere to your skin with Glamour Magic Glue".

Here is the ad (click to enlarge)

Coro Duette trademark first used 1929

Was digging through trademark records today, and found the record showing that Cohn & Rosenberger (Coro) trademarked the name "Duette" in 1929, stating that the Duette mark was first used Oct 10, 1929

Consolidated page for researching Coro

Seems like I often need to research Coro items, as they are some of my favorites and I snap them up when I see them. Over time, I've found a bunch of great websites that have old Coro advertisements, patents and info on the various Coro marks.

So, I've consolidated my most often used links onto one web page. I'll keep working on it, adding more links, but the basics are there. You can visit the page on the main JPP website here. I hope you also find it helpful! I would love suggestions for more places to add!

Seen in a 1935 ad - Duoettes v Duettes

In a 1935 ad for Coulter Dry Goods Company in Los Angeles. A drawing of a generic "Duette" type pin, described as "two clips that may be instantly transformed into a brooch...available in many striking styles". It is called a "Duoette Clip". No manufacturer or brand is mentioned, so perhaps a play on the Coro Duettes available at the time - or perhaps a misprint, since this was during the time that the Coro Duettes were being introduced.

Coro "Tag" Bracelets - 1949

Coro Tag Bracelets were described in a 1949 ad as "Flexible link bracelets with a tag for monogramming." Think a charm bracelet with a flat charm that could be monogrammed. The tags (charm) could be square, round, rectangular and "charm" shapes.

There were different price points ranging from about $1 to $5 (in the two ads that I saw). And they were made from a range of materials. One ad describes the following materials:

• gold plated
• silver plated
• gold filled
• sterling silver

The ad also shows differing chain types; snake chains, and thick and thin regular type chains

Coro Victorian 1949 ad

Found in a newspaper ad from fall 1949 (click to enlarge)

Duettes that aren't Coro?

In browsing the book American Jewelry Manufacturers by Dorothy Rainwater, I found reference to a company called "Certified Metals Company". In the description it shows a logo that says "Loves Duette" for wedding rings and engagement rings, and mentions an ad from 1978

Given that this brand was used for fine jewelry, and apparently generally for rings, it will probably not cause any confusion in identifying pieces that we may find, but just in case, I thought it might be good to know that the name was actually used for items other than Coro.

Trademark infringement "Caro" vs "Coro"

Ran across a description of a trademark infringement case where Coro had sued a company called the "Caro Jewelry Company" for trademark infringement. The information I found is for the appeal, but has some cool tidbits.

First, don't panic! This isn't a case (as far as I can tell), where anybody marked actual jewelry with "Caro". Whew!

This was a case in Mississippi where a local jewelry store sold Coro jewelry. The store was then sold to new owners who named the company "Caro" and then apparently used block and script forms of the name that looked very similar to "Coro" in their advertising for the store. Coro won the suit, and you can read more about it here: http://altlaw.org/v1/cases/795346

The interesting (to me) research tidbits found in the case description are listed below. I am of the opinion that this type of background information provided in court documents is probably pretty accurate, as the information would seemingly be provided by the company to their lawyers at the time of the lawsuit

snippet from the case:

"The word "Coro" as a trademark was formulated by joining the first two letters of the names of the founders of the business, Cohen and Rosenberger, and since 1919, plaintiff has used in connection with the sale of its costume jewelry the name and style of "Coro" written both in block letters and in script. In 1921 plaintiff registered with the Commissioner of Patents the name "Coro" as a trademark and has used this trademark continuously since that date. And subsequent thereto it has obtained numerous renewals of its trademark in a number of forms and for a variety of jewelry items and ornaments"


Also, I'm kind of collecting the names of lawyers associated with Coro - thinking that this may be useful in "connecting the dots" of other research. The names of the NY lawyers listed on this case are: Ira M Millstein and Robert Todd Lang. I'm assuming the Mississippi lawyers listed were hired locally for this case.

Coro beads from Germany - before and after WWI

....more from Google books today.

In 1921 there were Senate hearings about a proposed law that would change the customs duties on imports after the war. Coro, through their customs agent submitted some information as testimony for this hearing. What I find interesting in this snippet is learning the name of someone that they purchased pearl beads from, both before and after the war. That being Heinrich Heinz of Geiersthal, Germany. Also interesting is the name of who signed this letter. Jerome H. Oppenheim Co. What is his relationship with Coro? For info, the name of the man that this is addressed to: Carl Stern, is described in the Senate testinony as working for the customhouse agent for Coro - M.T. Corbett & Co.

click the graphic below to see the full graphic if the right side is cut off on your screen - I didn't want to make is too small to read so I didn't shrink it to fit)