Emmons, Sarah Coventry Revisited

Today, on this cold, rainy morning, I found a wonderful article at www.antiquetrader.com titled “Home Party Jewelry Remembered” by Pamela Wiggins Siegel published November 8, 2022. Her articles are always well-written, easy to read, and carefully researched so it was a pleasure to enjoy the article with my morning coffee. It prompted me to revisit the Emmons and Coventry jewelry I have in my collection and the design qualities of each set.

The following Emmons necklace, bracelet and earrings remain in their original, recognizable Emmons red presentation boxes.

The name Cleopatra defines the design as Egyptian inspired. Egyptian designs are often architectural, so it isn’t surprising the design has similar geometric features – rectangles, squares and diamonds – as Art Deco architectural designs. Lines of open space, or negative space, continue this geometry, help to lighten the look of the design, and add interesting X and V shapes.

The cast pieces are connected by chains. The color combination of olivine, sun, and amethyst rhinestones is distinctive. All three are secondary colors. Secondary colors, in the right shades, are balanced and work well together.

Interestingly modern Julie Vos SOHO jewelry also features designs with rivets and X’s. Her modern version of geometric lines is wonderful.

The Emmons Cleopatra set was found in its original red Caroline Emmons boxes. The Emmons logo – CE with a crown – is visible on the front.

One box shows the original item number for this set, 0533.

Emmons jewelry and Sarah Coventry jewelry were both founded by Charles Stuart in 1949 and sold exclusively at home parties. Some Emmons designs are signed Emj.

Both Emmons and Sarah Coventry closed in the early 1980s. Sarah Coventry was later revived but the new company, which never saw the success found in the brand’s early years, went out of business in 2009.

Pamela Wiggins Siegel Home Part Jewelry Remembered, November 8, 2022

Sarah Coventry jewelry is easier to find in the collectible market than Emmons jewelry. Generally, Coventry jewelry is well-made and the designs are interesting.

The five sets shown above are all signed Sarah Coventry. They are displayed on an original, folding Sarah Coventry salesperson prop. The tri-fold display measures 10″ long with 15 1/2″ of display area when fully opened.

The left side has a pocket, the middle is flat, and the right has a flap of gray silk that lifts from more flat display area.

Many, many years ago, the Light of the East pin shown below was my first antique store purchase. It was beautiful, well-made, and SIGNED – all of the qualities my novice self was looking for – except, of course, I paid too much! Right from the beginning, I was fascinated by jewelry signatures. The pendant and earrings were added later.

The motif is Asian imitating the look of red, green, and blue mosaics. The oval stone and oval frame dominate the design.

Deep ruby rhinestones, in fancy prong settings, are stacked to form the floral center. This stacking element is repeated in the ring and earring design. The light-weight stylized petals complete the floral motif.

The strawberry pin is a well-balanced asymmetrical design. The three deep ruby “buds” balance the two ripe berries hanging below. The earring design mirrors the design of the pin. (The glowing berries with textured stems are reminiscent of the popular Austrian fruit pin designs.)

The blue aurora borealis stone brooch shown below was made by DeLizza & Elster for Sarah Coventry. It is called Blue Lagoon and first seen in 1964. It is dimensional, rhodium plated and features large navette-shaped stones. The earrings feature triple blue aurora borealis stones to match the brooch.

Note: Some of the stones in this set are replacements with the WRONG colors. The dark sapphire stones are NOT original to the design. The original design features capri blue stones on the inside with light sapphire stones in the middle row. I purchased this set many years ago, long before all of the wonderful Juliana (DeLizza & Elster) information was available.

Now that I “found” this pin again, I’ll set it aside to be repaired with the correct stones.

The name of this set, Emerald Ice, speaks to the motif of this design. The earrings are reminiscent of geometric snowflakes. The delicate bracelet is thickly rhodium plated. It is truly lovely in person.

There are many, many beautiful Sarah Coventry designs available at affordable prices. The five Coventry sets above are shown in date order beginning with the earliest Coventry set in my collection.

The 1960 and 1964 sets have rhodium plating and elegant designs. The 1966 and 1967 sets are gold plated with natural themes. The 1968 mosaic set is tailored with an Asian influence.

It is too small a sample to draw any valid conclusions from these design differences; yet it is interesting to see the sets lined-up in this way.

I enjoyed “playing” with the Emmons and Coventry jewelry. It has been years since I really “looked” at the sets.

Happy Collecting.

Love,

Julie