Emeraude by Coty c1918

Emeraude by Coty: launched in 1918, created by Francois Coty. Pronounced "EM-AIR-ODE," meaning "emerald" in French.

It was said that the people of Persia kept emerald jewels in their temples and believed that mysterious powers were hidden within their depths. Fascinated by the Persian reverence for this precious stone, Francois Coty was also enchanted with the Persian legend that these jewels bring divine happiness. He wanted to capture the intrigue of the land and the beauty of the stone in a perfume, so in 1918, he created Emeraude, in which he claimed was "the soul of the emerald in fragrance."

Jacques Guerlain, wife of Coty's competitor, would wear only L'Aimant and Emeraude, both produced by Coty. It was rumored that Shalimar was created by Guerlain's attempt to recreate Emeraude. You have to admit, both perfumes smell very similar.

In the 1920s and 1930s, it was customary for perfume companies to introduce the idea that women of certain complexion or hair color would be better suited to particular perfumes. Incidentally, perfumers said, blondes should wear light perfume, brunettes, heavy Oriental perfumes. For instance, Emeraude was suggested to be worn by brunettes and redheads. The "exotic richness" of Emeraude was said to "translate the warm, velvety beauty of brunettes." Emeraude was also said to be suitable for redheaded women too and to be "languorous, brilliant" "suggesting the exotic - this rare type.".

• For Blondes: Paris, L'Aimant, L'Effleurt, La Rose Jacqueminot & L'Or.
• For Brunettes: L'Aimant, L'Origan, Emeraude, Chypre, Ambréine, Fougeraie au Crépuscule, or Styx.
• For Red-Haired Women: Emeraude, Paris, L'Origan, L'Ambre Antique, Iris & Cyclamen.

Other perfumers advised women to seek out perfume based on their personalities or moods rather than their looks. These marketing techniques worked and thousands of bottles of perfume were purchased, probably by those who needed to buy gifts for others or were unsure of what perfumes to wear.

• For the Woman of Sunny Joyous Type: L'Effleurt, Muguet & Violette.
• For the Woman of the Dreamy Elusive Type: Jasmine de Corse, La Jacinthe & Lilas Blanc.
• For the Exotic Types: Chypre, Violette Pourpre, Ambre Antique
• For the Mysterious Types: Ambre Antique, Styx & Cyclamen
• For the Brilliant Sophisticated Temperaments: Emeraude, Paris, L'Origan

Sears, Roebuck and Company Catalog, 1930:

"EMERAUDE - "Exquisitely Appealing*' Rich in fragrance with an ardent power to sway the senses."

Original Fragrance Composition:

So what does it smell like? It is classified as an oriental fragrance for women. Piquant, intriguing, spicy, a combination of exotic plants, sandalwood, musk, amber and jasmine with just a hint of citrus for surprise.

It begins with a citrusy top of bergamot, orange, lemon and lemongrass with a fresh touch of dewy cyclamen, followed by a sweet floral heart combining ylang ylang from the Comoros Islands, rose, cassie, wild lily of the valley and precious jasmine, layered over a sweet, balsamic, base of Mexican vanilla, Siamese benzoin, resins, aromatic gums, Peru balsam, tonka bean, woodsy notes of aloes, Malabar sandalwood, and Brazilian rosewood plus a quartet of sensual animalics: ambergris, castoreum, civet, and powdery musk.

• Top notes: cyclamen, aldehydes, bergamot, lemon, orange, lemongrass
• Middle notes: lily of the valley, cassie, jasmine, Comoros ylang ylang, rose, Brazilian rosewood
• Base notes: aloeswood, musk, styrax, Peru balsam, tonka bean, civet, castoreum, spices, resins, opoponax, Mexican vanilla, ambergris, Ambrein, Malabar sandalwood, patchouli, Siamese benzoin

 

L'Amour de l'art, 1950:

"Émeraude by Coty: flowery with jasmine, fixed by civet, castoreum and ambergris, this perfume of hope and luxury seems to enhance the carmine of a lip and adds to adornments that we cannot resist not."

Connie, a reader of my blog, graciously sent me some very old samples of Coty perfumes, which I call the "Big Three".  Emeraude, L'Aimant and L'Origan. These perfumes have stood the test of time and have remained popular for decades.

Very delicious, this is pure orange creamsicle. We have the gorgeous early Emeraude from the 1920s, with a stunning orange-vanilla-benzoin--soft, sandalwood note that is layered over sweet and powdery amber, sexy musk and civet, jasmine, incense, patchouli, rosewood, myrrh and lemons. I have fallen in love with this oldie, and simply cannot stop sniffing my arm--even my husband says this smells good enough to eat. This is nothing like the Emeraude of today!

This perfume makes me think of the smoky, languorous hammams, filled with burning ambergris, patchouli and myrrh incense smoldering on gilded brass braziers. Behind a carved rosewood screen, one can peer thru the perforations and see that a young, ebony skinned slave girl is liberally sprinkling orange flower water over partially nude voluptuous bodies of the cinnamon hued harem concubines, who are being deeply massaged with expensive and exotic oils made up of civet, musk and sandalwood. A Circassian beauty with frizzed out hair, lying languidly next to a pool of jasmine and ylang ylang perfumed water,  deftly brings a sweet vanilla and lemon pastry to her succulent mouth and then licks off the honey and rose water dripping from her fingers.

Bottles:

Emeraude was housed in numerous bottles over the years depending on what type concentration the fragrance was made: Parfum, Parfum de Toilette, Cologne, Eau de Toilette, or Eau de Parfum.

Some early bottles were made by Rene Lalique and Baccarat. But most bottles made after 1920 were made by Coty’s own glassworks in Pantin and his flacons were fitted with presentation cases made at his boxing factory in Neuilly.

Parfum Flacons:

The first bottles used were made for the Parfum (Extrait) and were made by Rene Lalique and Baccarat. Soon these proved to be too expensive for Coty to purchase, so he adapted the designs and had them made in his own glassworks in France, these bottles will be marked with "Coty France" on the base.


Moth Stopper Parfum Flacon:

One of the first bottles used was the Rene Lalique designed bottle that featured the double moth frosted glass stopper. This bottle was originally designed by Lalique for the Coty fragrance Muguet in 1912, but was later used for almost all of the Coty fragrances.

This bottle was also made by Baccarat in 1913, mold number 241. These bottles should be acid marked Baccarat on the base. The Baccarat bottle can be found standing at 3.25' tall.

This was later made by Coty's own glassworks and will be marked "Coty" on the base. The Coty marked bottle holds 1.6 oz of parfum and stands 3.25" tall, it was housed inside of a green leather covered box.

This bottle was adapted for travelling by the usage of an inner glass stopper and a brass screw cap, this bottle was made by Baccarat, model number 291.

Roseraie Package:

In 1927, Coty brought out a pretty new packaging design for the moth stoppered bottle. The bottle was now housed in a box covered with a brown suede like effect. This presentation was used for the perfumes Emeraude, L'Origan, Paris and Chypre. Newspaper ads differed on how much the bottle actually held as I found 1 1/3 oz, 1 3/4 oz, and 1 1/2 oz being noted. Errors in ads were numerous at the time.

Etui a Cigarette Presentation:

Also introduced in 1927, was the Etui a Cigarette presentation.

 

Metal Case Parfum Bottles:

A nice purse size bottle was created and presented in a hinged metal case around 1928. The case stands 2 3/4" tall. The bottle has an embossed band along the upper part and a frosted glass stopper molded with flowers and ridge details. The bottle was available in three sizes: 1/4 oz, 1/2 oz and 1 oz. These containers were discontinued in 1933. The 1/4 oz bottle itself was discontinued in 1934.

A larger size was also created for the boudoir, standing at 6" tall and holds Eau de Toilette. These bottles were also used for other Coty perfumes: L'Origan, Chypre, Paris,, La Rose Jacqueminot and L'Aimant.

  

Louvre Parfum Flacon:

The "Louvre" parfum flacon made it's debut in 1929 and featured an arched shape with sloping shoulders and was fitted a frosted glass stopper. The bottle held 1 2/3 oz of Parfum. The bottle was still being used in 1930 for Emeraude, L'Origan, Chypre, Paris, and La Jacee.

Crystal Bottles with Gilt Cap:

In 1928, flat, square shaped crystal bottles with inner glass stoppers and gilt brass caps were available in French leather cases. These bottles held Emeraude, L'Origan, 

Flat Frosted Stopper Parfum Bottles:

Introduced around 1928 was a square crystal bottle with a flat, but faceted frosted glass stopper. This bottle held 1 2/3 oz of parfum and was used for Emeraude, Paris, Chypre and L'Origan.

In the early 1920s, a slim, but wide crystal bottle with eight sides was used to hold Emeraude parfum only. This is known as the "De Luxe Crystal Flacon." The bottle had an inner glass stopper covered by a gilded brass cap that was decorated with green enameled dots. There is no paper label, but a clear, film-like label. The bottle was made by Coty's own glassworks and is acid stamped with "Coty France" on the base. The bottle was housed in a presentation box with a pull out drawer that featured a silky tassel. This bottle can be found in two sizes: 3.5" tall and 3.75" tall. This bottle was still being used into the 1930s and I believe once it entered the 1930s, the cap started having the horizontal banding instead of the dots.

photos from ebay seller Bottles and Scents

In the mid 1920s , Coty created a beautiful Persian motif to be used with all the presentations for Emeraude. The boxes for the perfumes and powders would be covered in an opulent pattern in tones of red, jade green, turquoise, yellow and ivory highlighted with metallic gold ink. This specific design was reserved for the fragrance of Emeraude only. You can see from the 1926 ad below the fancy patterned box with the silky tassel used for Emeraude.

In 1936 Baccarat also supplied another bottle, with an inner glass stopper, model number 765. This bottle is the same shape as the one used in the mid 1920s, and has an inner glass stopper and brass cap, this time, the cap has horizontal bands of green enamel instead of dots. Also notice the label design is different.

This bottle can be found in the 1.86 oz size and stands 3.75" tall.

A demi-modele of the flacon was also released in 1936, you can see the image from a 1937 Coty catalog below how it was packaged. Notice the brass cap and location of the label.

In 1937, a new line of Emeraude fragranced products was introduced and all had the Persian themed packaging as seen by the ad below.

 

Purser Flacon:

Gold-tone case holds a glass bottle and has a green plastic cap and base. It appeared in the 1937/1938 Coty catalog.

Eau de Toilette Flacons:

The early Eau de Toilette flacons followed the designs used for the Parfum, elegant and beautiful, often with colorful lithographed paper labels. Later bottles were much more simplistic in design.

In 1926, both a 1 1/5 oz and a 3 oz bottle for the Eau de Toilette were introduced that had patented metal sprinkler tops that allowed one to shake out only a few drops at a time when needed. These bottles were designed for traveling and were non-refillable.

Parfum de Toilette:

Coty's Parfum de Toilette, first introduced in 1960, was equal to today's Eau de Parfum strength fragrances. A happy medium between eau de toilette and parfum. The Emeraude Parfum de Toilette was housed in various bottles over the years.


The Imperial Decanter held 6 oz of Parfum de Toilette and was introduced as a limited edition in 1975. It retailed for $10 when launched, but in 1977, retailers were eager to clear out the remainders of old stock and were selling it as low as $3.59. The decanter was fitted with a special, tight sealing stopper. The instructions advised one to open the decant by placing it on a flat surface, and rocking the stopper gently back and forth, lifting gradually. Not pull directly. To replace, slip stopper down with the same gentle, rocking motion.

Eau de Cologne Flacons:



Spray Flacons:

Bath & Body Products:

Over the years bath and body products were released, discontinued and then released again, often in different containers and packaging. You can use the various clues on packaging to help you date your products.

Fate of the Fragrance:

After a short hiatus due to the second world war, Emeraude was imported back to the United States, much to the delight of American women.

Glass Packer, 1947:

"Coty's spicy fragrance, Emeraude perfume, is back on cosmetic counters in a new flacon molded on the style of a square-cut emerald, and decorated with a small spot label. The box is of green simulated leather with a design in Persian motif."

Still in production, but has suffered reformulations.

In 1971, I see mention that it was probably reformulated to suit the modern taste of the time as The Illustrated London News reported that "The revival is Coty's Emeraude, which is lighter and less heady than it used to be but remains both sweet and tangy."



In 2004, to celebrate the firm’s 100th anniversary, Henri Coty, François’s son, commissioned the re-creation of his father’s Emeraude perfume, to be housed inside a French crystal flacon. These were sold in a limited number of just 200 only available to the French Market, and the perfume was reformulated by Daphné Bugey. Bottom of the bottle is marked in raised letters, "Bottle Made In France". This bottle measures 2" tall x 1 1/4" square. Other perfumes in this limited edition set included: Jasmin de Corse, L'Origan, and La Rose Jacqueminot. The perfume set was celebrated with the launch of a book Coty: The Brand of Visionary by Editions Assouline.