Bk Pce CORO-CRAFT STERLING "Hoots" Duette Gold Enamel

Pricing & History

Sold for
Start Free Trial or Sign In to see what it's worth.
Sold Date
Source eBay

For auction is a gold-plated (vermeil) CORO-CRAFT STERLING duette in the form of a pair of owls roosting on bits of boughs. Each owl is formed from sterling silver vermeil. The beaks, feet, feathers, and boughs are enameled blue, yellow, and brown. Each owl has two huge aquamarine rhinestone eyes. In addition, the top of its head and the shoulders of its wings are paved with small white rounds. This pin is new to the market, having been bought new by my late mother and worn very seldom by her, and is in superb condition, the gold plating is bright and shiny with no apprciable signs of wear. The rhinestone are all present and retain their brilliance and beauty. The pin back and fur pin clips are all tight and secure. Each owl can be separated from the pin frame and be worn as fur pin clips. DUETTES , or detachable brooches, are probably the definitive CORO jewel. Two, and sometimes three clips could be removed from a frame and worn separately, or reattached to the frame, form one unified design, to be worn as a pin or brooch.This design was marketed under the name " HOOTS " as can be seen in the magazine ad published in Vogue in August, 1944. I have included a scan of the ad on this page for your reference. Adolph Katz patented the design for Coro in 1944. I have included the drawing from the patent application also for your reference. The HOOTS duette is featured in many reference books, being one of the classic Coro Duettes . The patent application drawing is shown in Julia C. Carroll, Collecting Costume Jewelry . Marcia "Sparkles" Brown shows the blue version with matching earrings on page 130 of Coro Jewelry A Collector's Guide ; she puts a value of $350 on the set. And it is also shown in Brunialti, American Costume Jewelry , pp. 62-3. In Collecting Costume Jewelry 101 , Carroll writes: " The Coro company tramemarked a unique type of brooch called the Coro Duette. The Coro Duette consists of a mechanism patented by Coro in 1931, that locks two separate dress clips together. When into the mechanism, the two clips look like one large brooch. The clips can also be detached from the mechanism to be worn separately. . . Coro Duettes are highly collectible and prized by collectors today. Some of them are very elaborate, featuring trembling flowers or twin birds. Others are simple geometric designs. . . Later Duettes from the 1950s were often figural designs including owl Duettes, rabbit Duettes, and monkey Duettes. "On the net, HOOTS sells for between $250.00 and $350.00. One of the clips is signed STERLING CORO-CRAFT with the Coro in script and the Sterling in Old English letters on an applied plaque with the desirable Pegasus (Flying Horse) logo. Both clips are marked Sterling on the clip mechanism. The frame is marked CORO DUETTE STERLING and PAT. NO. 1798867 . The patent number refers to the design of the Duette mechanism not the style of the clips attached to the frame and appears on all authentic Duettes .The duette measures 1.75 by 2.0 inches (4.4 by 5.1 cm). Each owl by itself is 0.75 by 2.0 inches (1.9 by 5.1 cm). Coro-Craft (also spelled Coro Craft and Corocraft at various times), beginning in 1933, was Coro's high-end line. It was only superceded in the 1960s and then by the company's couturier subsidiary VendÃ´me . Coro was the largest manufacturer of costume jewelry in United States during the golden age of the 30's, 40's, and 50's. Many styles of Coro jewelry are avidly collected today.I will mail this pin to you, as soon as payment is confirmed, by first-class mail in a padded envelope. Outside the U.S., your purchase goes by airfirst-class international. I prefer PayPal, but money orders are acceptable for domestic addresses. PayPal only for overseas addresses. Checks are not acceptable. I will ship anyw in the world. Postage and handling are $3.50 to all U.S. addresses; overseas bidders pay $4.50 for the first item. I discount multiple purchases that are shipped together; for all addresses, I charge... read more

Items in the Price Guide are obtained exclusively from licensors and partners solely for our members’ research needs.

Flag item for content or copyright

If this item contains incorrect or inappropriate information please contact us here to flag it for review.

If you are the originator/copyright holder of this photo/item and would prefer it be excluded from our community, contact us here for removal.