Sarah Coventry

Last updated
Sarah Coventry
Industry Costume jewelry
Founded1949;77 years ago (1949)
FounderLyman K. Stuart
FateBankruptcy

Sarah Coventry was an American costume jewelry brand [1] based in Newark, New York. [2] The company was named after the granddaughter of Lyman K. Stuart, the founder.

Contents

Established in 1949, the sales force was at first all male. Thousands of women and some men were recruited to sell jewelry at Sarah Coventry home jewelry parties. [3] It was recognized as the largest direct selling jewelry company in the world during the sixties and early seventies. [4]

Production

The company did not manufacture their own jewelry. Instead, they sketched out designs and then used other manufacturers to produce it. S&M Enameling Company, based in Providence, Rhode Island, produced jewelry foe Sarah Coventry for 20 years. [2] Most of the production happened in the state of Rhode Island. [5]

From 1948-1985, Sarah Coventry used a space built by Reed Manufacturing in Newark, New York for jewelry production. In 2024, the factory was named on the New York Register of Historic Places. [1]

Jewelry pieces were made with a variety of materials: gold-colored metal, rhodium, plastic, rhinestones, and gemstones. [6]

Bankruptcy

In 1981, Sarah Coventry filed for bankruptcy. [2]

The trademarked name passed through several hands. In the mid-1980s a subsidiary of Playboy Enterprises, Inc. (the publishers of Playboy magazine) owned the company, as it was planning on diversifying into a brand management company. It later sold the company in the 1990s.

Sarah Coventry jewelry was re-opened years later by new owners and was distributed by representatives via catalogs, the internet, home shopping networks, and other means. By 2009, the name Sarah Coventry was no longer in business. [3]

Marks

Some marks seen on vintage jewelry include:

There is usually, but not always, a copyright symbol accompanying the mark.

References

  1. 1 2 sbuchiere@fltimes.com, STEVE BUCHIERE (2024-11-04). "Newark building honored for its history". Finger Lakes Times. Retrieved 2026-02-27.
  2. 1 2 3 Writer, Paul Davis Journal Staff. "Jewelry District: Ghost of its former self". The Providence Journal. Retrieved 2026-02-27.
  3. 1 2 Bridgeford-Smith, Jan (2009). "All That Glittered: The Rise and Fall of Sarah Coventry Inc". Life in the Finger Lakes (Summer). Retrieved 17 October 2021.
  4. ↑ Sturdivant, Sandra (2012). Identifying Sarah Coventry Jewelry, 1949-2009. Schiffer Pub. ISBN   978-0-7643-4214-1.
  5. ↑ Miller, Judith (2010). Miller's Costume Jewelry. Great Britain: Octopus Publishing Group Ltd. p. 162. ISBN   978-1-84533-563-2.
  6. ↑ "Sarah Coventry® Jewelry". Schifferbooks. Retrieved 2026-02-27.

Further reading

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