Coro and Trifari
Two Essential Names in the World of Costume Jewelry
In the world of costume jewelry, it is often said that everything comes down to one question:
Coro or Trifari?
These two companies stand as dominant forces in American costume jewelry history.
Trifari is often associated with refinement, consistency, and a strong sense of prestige.
Coro, by contrast, built its reputation on an extraordinary ability to capture fashion trends and translate them into a wide range of designs offered at accessible price points.
Coro was a vast manufacturer with dozens of sub-brands. To fully document its scope would require an entire reference volume—and in fact, several books have been published devoted solely to Coro.
Rather than attempting to cover every subsidiary in detail, this article focuses on the core of the company: Coro and its high-end line, Corocraft.
This is a longer read, but for those who want to understand the true outline of Coro as a brand, it is worth following the story through to the end.
People and Related Brands Around Coro
Robert Mandle
Before discussing Coro itself, it is important to address Robert Mandle, a name closely intertwined with Coro’s history.
Robert Mandle was a jewelry brand that remained active from the era of Coro founder Carl Rosenberger through the 1990s. Today, its design spirit is often considered to live on through Gem-Craft, the company founded by former Coro head designer Gene Verri.
The Mandle family emigrated from Germany to New York in the 1840s. Urie Mandle, a gifted salesman, eventually took over E. Cohn & Company, which later evolved into Cohn and Rosenberger, and ultimately became Coro.
In the 1930s, following the death of Coro founder Carl Rosenberger and the succession of his son Gerald, Urie Mandle left the company and established Urie Mandle Corporation in 1938. His son Robert soon joined the business, and together they achieved rapid success, rivaling Coro in scale.
However, wartime metal shortages during World War II forced the company to dissolve, and Robert entered military service.
After the war, Urie founded Urie F. Mandle Company, with Robert returning to the business. Under the name URO Creations, the company focused on sterling silver jewelry, later rebranding as R. Mandle in 1956.
Among those supporting the company’s growth was Alfeo Verri, the twin brother of Gene Verri. Gene himself also contributed designs. R. Mandle produced everything from Swarovski jewelry to teen-oriented lines, earning the Swarovski Design Award in 1966 and becoming the first American costume jewelry manufacturer to expand into Europe.
Robert Mandle jewelry is rare and sells for a little more.
The Origins of Coro
Coro was born from two companies: E. Cohn & Company and Cohn and Rosenberger.
E. Cohn & Company
Founded in New York in 1902 by Emanuel Cohn, the company began as a sales operation. With the addition of Urie Mandle, its distribution network expanded as far as Arizona.
In 1903, Carl Rosenberger joined the firm, and the company became Cohn and Rosenberger.
In 1911, Emanuel Cohn left the company. The circumstances of his departure remain unclear, with theories ranging from retirement to death, and even speculation about the Titanic disaster.
Carl Rosenberger and Gerald Rosenberger
Born in Germany, Carl Rosenberger emigrated to the United States at age fourteen and entered the jewelry trade by sixteen. After learning costume jewelry production at Fischel and Nesseler, he founded Coro in 1911.
The company prospered, leading to the construction of a major manufacturing facility in Rhode Island. Carl was also known for his strong commitment to philanthropy.
In 1922, his son Gerald Rosenberger joined the company, helping expand Coro’s sales network into Europe.
After Carl’s death, Gerald sold Coro to Richton International in 1967. As the industry landscape changed, Coro’s U.S. operations ultimately closed in 1979. Richton International itself declared bankruptcy the following year.
Key Figures Behind Coro
Adolph Katz
Although frequently mistaken for a designer, Adolph Katz was not one.
His role was to oversee design selection and determine the overall direction of Coro’s aesthetic.
Born in Germany in 1906, Katz immigrated to New York at eighteen and joined Coro through personal connections. Beginning in shipping, he steadily rose to become design director. While he did not design jewelry himself, his discerning eye played a decisive role in shaping Coro’s identity.
Head Designer: Gene Verri
Gene Verri was responsible for many of Coro’s most iconic designs, including the celebrated Duette series. His relative anonymity is largely due to the fact that many design patents were filed under Katz’s name.
Born in 1911 to an Italian jewelry family, Gene and his twin brother Alfeo experienced family separation during World War I. Gene grew up in the United States, studying art from a young age and earning a scholarship to the Rhode Island School of Design at fourteen.
Discovered by Royal Marcher in 1933, Gene became deeply involved in Coro’s design operations. In 1948, with Coro’s permission, he launched his own company, Craftsman (later Gem-Craft), while continuing to work for Coro until 1965.
In 2000, his contributions were formally recognized, and nine of his designs were reissued. Gene Verri passed away in 2012 at the age of 101.
Gem-Craft is stamped with Craft©
Growth and the Golden Years of Coro
Coro was founded in 1903 and officially adopted the name “Coro” in 1911.
In 1923, buyers were sent to Japan to source pearls and beads; after World War II, finished jewelry was also imported as a source of inspiration.
In 1926, Coro launched Corogram Incorporated, a monogram-focused line that remained popular until the trend faded in 1932.
Despite the Great Depression, Coro took a bold risk in 1929 by constructing a massive Rhode Island factory—a decision that proved successful. At its peak, the company employed over 3,500 workers.
By the 1930s, Coro operated retail outlets across the United States, with factories established in England and Canada by 1933. Around 1950, Coro became the largest costume jewelry manufacturer in the world.
Coro’s “Jewelry School”
One of Coro’s most distinctive initiatives was its in-house jewelry school.
At a time when formal jewelry education was expensive and inaccessible, Coro offered training free of charge, paying students while they learned. This system produced a generation of skilled designers and technicians whose ideas directly influenced Coro’s output.
Even with enormous production capacity, Coro often struggled to meet demand.
Anecdotes and the End of an Era
In 1954, a salesman discovered a mustard-seed charm at a local shop. Coro adapted the idea into a ribbon-accented brooch that sold approximately 1.5 million units.
Coro was fully sold in 1969, and its U.S. factories closed in 1979.
Coro Inc. in Canada, however, reportedly continued production into the 1990s.
A mustard seed brooch, a lucky motif, is set in lucite.
Corocraft
Coro’s Premier Line for the European Market
In 1933, Coro’s expansion into Europe led to legal disputes due to name similarity with “Ciro.” The resolution was the creation of the Corocraft brand.
Corocraft represented Coro’s highest-quality line, primarily featuring vermeil (gold-plated sterling silver), with prices ranging from $10 to $50 at the time.
Gene Verri served as head designer, and Corocraft remained Coro’s most prestigious line until the 1970s.
Vermeil Available in rose gold and yellow gold.
Signature Piece
Coro's famous collector's jewellery, Duette
Duette series. Two brooches can be combined into one. Made by Gene
He sold them between 1929 and 1946. He is best known for this camellia, but he also has a famous parrot brooch.
Since the 1950s, jewelry made with lucite has become common.
Coro was never confined to a single style or price point.
Its strength lay in its flexibility—responding quickly to fashion trends while maintaining high standards of design and manufacturing across an extraordinary range.
Unlike Trifari’s consistent aesthetic, Coro reflected the spirit of its era.
Holding a Coro piece today quietly conveys the atmosphere of its time—the lives of its wearers, the ambitions of its makers, and the experimentation behind each design.
With countless sub-brands, thousands of designs, and a factory-school that nurtured generations of creators, Coro’s legacy extends beyond jewelry.
It represents the history of American costume jewelry itself.
Among Coro’s higher-end lines, Vendôme stands apart with a distinct identity and appeal.
You can read more about Vendôme in the dedicated article linked here.
