Early Coro Hand With Nosegay Brooch

NWS 12-1557

~ The dawn of the 1940's decade was a bleak one. All the news carried headlines about war and economic stagnation. Women looked longingly back to the simpler days of their mothers and grandmothers for comfort. This hand brooch, a common Victorian theme in jewelry, was from their "back in the day", and it made them smile. Heck, it makes us smile!

~ The brooch conveys a gentle, delicate message of love and grace, but the brooch itself is anything but petite. Jewelry in the late 30's-early 40's was all about BIG,... the bigger and grander, the better. Costume jewelry was reaching new heights of popularity. It was new, it was outrageous, it was fabulously fake, and they wore it practically by the fistful. This brooch measures 3.5" wide (tip of sleeve to tip of fingers) and 2" high. Like I said, big.

~ The dark green enamel leaves set off the tiny flower buds, depicted by faceted, faux sapphires. The flowers are covered in clear, faceted rhinestones. All the stones are original and all are in great condition, which is mind blowing, considering how old this is. The enamel work is in such good shape it made me suspicious that someone might have "restored" it, but I checked this thoroughly with a 10x loupe, and it has its original surface. There are minor signs of wear but very few.  It was probably kept in a box, tucked away for almost a century and not worn much, if at all.

~ It is marked "Coro" on the back, their earliest signature. For research, see my page on Coro signature evolution here. The strike on this brooch is uneven. You can barely see it, but you will see it. It's unmistakable  (2nd to last photo, above).

~ The base metal is pot metal, thickly plated with rhodium.

~ The swivel-head safety clasp and pin stem are all original and in perfect working condition.

c. 1940, in near mint condition

Price =  $245.00 b1, a-c

Who is Coro?

To read my brief article at Fabulous Facets about Adolf Katz, the man who filed this patent (shown above) for Coro, click "The Story of Adolf Katz" here.