Coty Perfumes: Standard Coty Flacons

1910s:

Coty Fragrances were 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.

In 1913 , Baccarat created a gorgeous cut crystal flacon for La Rose Jacqueminot. This bottle was model number 225. It was a tall square shape with a spectacular round cut crystal lapidary stopper with a slightly pointed top. It is hard to find this bottle, especially with no damage on the stopper, a real showpiece for your collection.

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Moth Stopper Parfum Flacon:

One of the first bottles used was the Rene Lalique designed bottle that featured the double moth/butterfly frosted glass stopper, patinated in brown. This bottle was originally designed by Lalique for the Coty fragrance Muguet (Lily of the Valley) in 1912, but was later used for almost all of the Coty fragrances. The flacon is a simple square shape, measuring slightly over 3" per side, with straight shoulders, slightly convex, an indented base, a small neck and a fancy molded stopper.

The Lalique flacons came in two sizes: 3.34" tall and 3.93" tall. The mark of a genuine Rene Lalique bottle is an impressed intaglio-molded long-tail L "LALIQUE" signature. See photo below. The bottle also has an elongated oval indentation in the center of the base. They were not marked "R. Lalique" so beware of fake signatures applied to old non-Lalique produced bottles.

This flacon is pictured in the following books:

Marcilhac, R.Lalique Catalogue Raisonne, page 929 of the 2011 French printing, under the reference "Coty 19" (photo 9).
Utt, Lalique Perfume Bottles, 1990, page 26.
Jones-North, Commercial Perfume Bottles, 1987, page 36

In 1914, to save money, Coty commissioned Baccarat to make the flacons based on the original Lalique designs. This caused a falling out in the friendship which resulted in the two men not talking for 13 years. Eventually, the two friends made up and Lalique designed one last bottle for him in 1927. Baccarat started making the bottles in 1916, the bottle being mold number 307. These bottles have sloping shoulders, not as straight as those found on the Lalique flacons. These bottles should be acid marked Baccarat on the base. Like the Lalique flacons, the bottle also has an elongated oval indentation in the center of the base. The Baccarat bottle can be found standing at 3.25" tall. You can see this bottle pictured in the book "Baccarat: The perfume bottles" by Addor Press, 1986, as #307.

However, the Baccarat bottles also proved to be too expensive, and François Coty, who was excessively cheap, had the Lalique-copied bottles produced at his own glassworks. Like those by Baccarat, these bottles have sloping shoulders, not as straight as those found on the Lalique flacons. The bottles made at the Coty glassworks are marked "Coty" on the base either embossed in the glass or acid stamped. Unlike the Lalique and Baccarat examples, the Coty made bottle does not have the elongated oval indentation in the center of the base, presumably to cut costs. The Coty base is flat. 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. Another size is 2.75" tall.

The beautiful moth stoppered bottle was finally discontinued in 1961.

This bottle shape was adapted in 1916 originally for L'Origan for travelling by the usage of an inner glass stopper and a gilt brass screw cap, this bottle was made by Baccarat, model number 291. In 1928, these flat, square shaped crystal bottles for Parfum were available in "smart" French leather cases. Bottles were available in two sizes: 2 oz and 4 oz. These bottles held the following:

Emeraude in green leather
Styx in beige leather
Muguet in beige leather
La Rose Jacqueminot in beige leather
Ambre Antique
L'Origan in red leather
Jasmin de Corse in red leather
Chypre in green leather
L'Aimant in red leather
Paris in blue leather

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. The face of the package has a small dotted circle with "Coty Paris" inside and is topped with fanciful ribbons. 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.

Heliotrope Flacon:

The "Heliotrope" flacon, also known as "Coty Perfume No. 14" was first made by Rene Lalique in 1911 for the Coty perfume Heliotrope. It is roughly a triangular shape with canted corners along the bottom. The bottle was used for various Coty fragrances: Emeraude, L'Aimant, L'Origan, Styx, Chypre, Muguet, Jacinthe, Jasmin de Corse, La Rose Jacqueminot, and Paris.

Briar Stopper Flacon:

Rene Lalique designed this flacon in 1911, and it was later made by Coty's own glassworks after 1920. The clear glass bottle is tall, with a square base, and features a frosted glass stopper molded with the "briar" motif. The bottle was originally made to house the various Eau de Toilettes, but the design was later adapted to include different sizes including a miniature versions to house parfum. The most common miniature size is dubbed "Petite Modele" and debuted in 1936 and held 0.27 oz.

In the 1920s, the boxes had messages inside reminding the owners of the bottles that ""These exquisite crystal flacons are hand-cut in the Paris ateliers of COTY - Care must be taken in placing them on the dressing table to avoid breakage of the corners."

Sizes:

2" tall miniature (0.13 oz)
2.5" tall miniature (0.27 oz) - Petite Modele
3" tall (0.60 oz)
4" tall
4.25" tall (1.70 oz)
5" tall
5.25" tall (3 oz)
5.5" tall
6" tall
6.25" tall
6.5" tall
8.75" tall

An unusual version is tall, but, flat and slim, and stands 4" tall, the largest bottle stands 12.5" tall, it displays the typical frosted briar stopper and held Eau de Coty and other scents like Ambre Antique. Dates to about 1915-1925 or so. If it is signed "Coty" on the base, it was made by Coty's own glassworks.

1920s:

Banded Bottles with Frosted Stoppers:

The bottle has an embossed band along the upper part and a frosted glass stopper molded with flowers and ridge details. Don't be fooled by sellers who claim this is a Lalique or Lalique-designed bottle. Lalique had nothing to do with it. People have mistakenly attributed this bottle to both Lalique and Baccarat, however, the bottle does not appear in either companies catalogs and was not one of their molds. It was made by Coty's own glassworks in France.

Here are two examples of the Coty marks that can be found molded into the base of the Coty made bottles:

Below are four gilded bronze models or maquettes (prototypes) of the flacons. These were used at Coty's glassworks at Suresnes. The sizes shown are: 8.5" tall, 6.7" tall, 5.5" tall and about 3.5" tall.

The parfum bottle was available in three sizes: 1/4 oz, 1/2 oz and 1 oz. The bottles were discontinued in 1932. The 1/4 oz bottle itself was discontinued in 1934.

Bottles stand:

2.25" tall - 1/4 oz
2.75" tall - 1/2 oz
3.75" tall - 1 oz

Larger sizes of this bottle were also created for the boudoir, standing at 6" tall, 7.25" tall and 8" tall and hold Eau de Toilette. These bottles were also used for other Coty perfumes: Eau de Coty, L'Origan, Chypre, Paris, La Rose Jacqueminot and L'Aimant.

3 oz bottle.

As you can see from the advertisement below, the eau de toilette bottles could also be found with shaker tops.

Cylindrical Frosted Stopper Bottles:

As early as 1923, a new style of bottle was introduced, it seems for the perfumes Chypre, L'Origan, Paris, Lilas Blanc, Iris, Heliotrope, Violette Pourpre, and L'Effleurt. It is a cylindrical shape and fitted with the familiar frosted stopper. I have found there are two types of stoppers, you can see in the photos below.

Don't be fooled by sellers who claim this is a Lalique or Lalique-designed bottle. Lalique had nothing to do with it. People have mistakenly attributed this bottle to both Lalique and Baccarat, however, the bottle does not appear in either companies catalogs and was not one of their molds. It was made by Coty's own glassworks in France and are acid stamped "Coty France" on base. Bottles have been found in various sizes:

2.5" tall.
0.80 oz stood 3" tall.
3.25" tall.
3.75" tall.

There are several different boxes used, a rectangular paper covered box reads: "The bottle, label and box of this item have been registered in accordance with the law and are the property of Coty. This specialty and its accessories were created by Coty in factories at the Cite des Parfums in Suresnes after Paris (France). Our products are the exclusive property of Coty incorporated for the United States of America where they are manufactured. Counterfeits will be rigorously pursued. All our specialties are sold under the Coty name without any first name."

Metal Case Parfum Bottles:

A nice purse size bottle set was created and presented in your choice of a crackle finished or a platinum tone nickel hinged metal case around 1928. The bottle used was the banded bottle with the frosted glass stopper. The case stands 2 3/4" tall. It was invented by Philip A. Reutter and manufactured by Scoville Manufacturing Co. These containers were discontinued in 1933.

Etui a Cigarette Presentation:

Also introduced in 1927, was the "Etui a Cigarette" presentation. Bottle stands 3 1/8" tall. People have mistakenly attributed this bottle to both Lalique and Baccarat, however, the bottle does not appear in either companies catalogs and was not one of their molds. It was made by Coty's own glassworks in France and is molded or acid stamped with "Coty France" on the base as it was made at Coty's own glassworks.

Lilas Pourpre Flacon:

"Lilas Pourpre" flacon made by Rene Lalique first used for Coty's Lilas Pourpre perfume in 1911. This bottle featured an arched shape with sloping shoulders and was fitted a frosted glass stopper with a molded stepped or scale design. The bottle was later used for all of Coty's perfumes in the 1910s through the 1930s. 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. You can find this in the 0.35 oz size as well.

Example with Coty's molded signature on base.

In 1929, it was part of what is known as the "Louvre" presentation and was advertised as a "new flacon". The bottle held 1 2/3 oz of Parfum and as you can see in the ad below, it was housed in a faux reptile skin covered presentation box. According to newspaper ads, the bottle was still being used in 1930 for Emeraude, L'Origan, Chypre, Paris, and La Jacee. The name "Louvre" was a throwback to the very store that Coty first approached to sell his La Rose Jacqueminot perfume in 1909. It is also worthy of to note that the name Louvre was chosen because the bottle was originally made by Lalique and used for the Magasins du Louvre department store for their signature perfumes.

1930s:

Cathedral Flacon for Parfum:

In 1930, a newspaper ad for Gimbel's claimed that a special bottle dubbed the "Cathedral", was designed and created exclusively for them to hold Coty's extracts of L'Aimant, Emeraude, Styx, L'Origan, La Jacee, Chypre, Muguet, L'Or, L'Effleurt, Lilas, La Rose Jacqueminot and Paris. The claim however, was untrue as I found other newspaper ads from other stores such as LS Ayres using the same bottle also claiming it was their "special" bottle too. This was just a special edition bottle, not made expressly for any one store. The modernistic bottle came in two sizes: 1 oz and 1 2/3 oz.

People have mistakenly attributed this bottle to both Lalique and Baccarat, however, the bottle does not appear in either companies catalogs and was not one of their molds. It was made by Coty's own glassworks in France and is molded or acid stamped with "Coty France" on the base as it was made at Coty's own glassworks.

The Cathedral bottle originally had a glass stopper, but by 1934, this bottle was later changed to have a plastic screw cap and made in different sizes. Also the slope shouldered Cathedral shape was adapted for use for other products in the line such as bath salts, most notably in the "Neptune Green" line of packaging.

Arched Crystal Flacon:

Also in 1930 another perfume bottle was introduced, it was a nice flat, arched shaped crystal flacon, very Art Deco, with a stepped glass stopper. It was available in two sizes: 1 oz and 1 5/8 oz. For the perfumes: Emeraude, L'Aimant, L'Origan, Rose, La Jacee, L'Effleurt, Chypre, Paris, Styx, and L'Or. This is pretty hard to find. One bottle stands 3" tall.

Again, people have mistakenly attributed this bottle to both Lalique and Baccarat, however, the bottle does not appear in either companies catalogs and was not one of their molds. It was made by Coty's own glassworks in France and is molded or acid stamped with "Coty France" on the base.

Metal Flip Top Case Purse Flacon:

In 1934, a purse flacon debuted in a new gold tone metal case (usually the gold tone finish has worn off). This case replaced the old coffin style that was used in the 1920s and early 1930s. The new case was rectangular in shape and had a strip of black bakelite covering the flip top lid. It has a hinge on the left side and a deep red tab on the right which, when pressed, opens the top to get to the perfume bottle inside. The front of the case features the engraved Coty logo. The size of the case is approx. 2.5" tall x 1-3/8" wide x 5/8" thick. It was invented by August Mitchell and manufactured by the Scovill Manufacturing Co.

The bottle is quite plain and is of clear glass and resembled the earlier banded style flacon. The stopper is molded with a stylized floral design. Again, people have mistakenly attributed this bottle to both Lalique and Baccarat, however, the bottle does not appear in either companies catalogs and was not one of their molds. It was made by Coty's own glassworks in France and is molded or acid stamped with "Coty France" on the base.

The bottle holds 1/4 oz of parfum. You can find this in Emeraude, L'Aimant, L'Origan and possibly others.

Other packaging:

Yellow Mimosa Print Packaging:

In 1935, the Coty floral parfums were packaged in new limited edition ensembles featuring mimosa prints on yellow backgrounds. I think this was also named Feuilles d'Automne (Autumn Leaves). The following perfumes were included: Muguet, Oeillet France, La Rose Jacqueminot, Ambre Antique, Lilas Pourpre, and Violette Pourpre. Eventually, the other Coty perfumes were added to the packaging design such as Emeraude, Iris, L'Aimant, and L'Origan.

Reste Jaune, 1936:

"All the other Coty perfumes benefit from a new standard presentation: flat crystal bottle, green and gold plastic stopper, box decorated with "autumn leaves", red, blue and gold. The powders are also presented in a new box decorated with "autumn leaves."

Peacock Presentation:

Debuting in 1935, the "Peacock Presentation" featured a peacock feather design on the packaging and stylized peacock eye motifs on the bottles. The bottles came in three sizes: purse, travel and boudoir. The fragrances represented were: Chypre, L'Aimant, L'Origan, Paris, Emeraude, Ambreine. By 1937, Emeraude and Ambreine were no longer offered in this line as you can see from the 1937/1938 catalog image below.

Obelisque Flacon:

The "Obelisque" flacon is a tall, slender bottle topped by a flat, square frosted glass stopper molded with stylized foliate motifs with the name COTY molded in each corner. This bottle made its debut in 1935. It was available in the following fragrances: Styx, Paris, Chypre, Emeraude, L'Aimant, and L'Origan. The flacon was also available in a miniature version holding just 0.34 oz and using the same scale motif stopper as the Lilas Pourpre and Louvre packaging styles.

Neptune Green Packaging:

In 1935 Coty introduced a new look for its packaging. Dubbed "Neptune Green", the boxes, talc and bath salts, and dusting powder canisters were covered in a seafoam green color with air bubbles and starfish to evoke an undersea motif. The scents represented were Styx, L'Aimant, Emeraude, L'Origan, Paris, and Chypre. The line included toilet water, bath salts, dusting powder and talcum. Bottles were satin glass molded with bubbles.

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.

1940s

Amphorae:

In 1940, Coty introduced an Eau de Toilette concentration which they termed "Informal Fragrances." These were their most popular fragrances which were housed inside amphora shaped stoneware bottles. Each amphora was color coordinated with the fragrances they contained.

Emeraude was in a light green
Chypre was in a lighter green
L'Aimant in pink
L'Origan in brown
Paris in blue

These amphoras were created by Zanesville Stoneware Company of Ohio starting in 1940. They measure 5.5" at the lip of the spout. Each bottle holds five ounces of the toilet water. The stoppers are a unique bronze colored metal capped cork. Some of the bottles might retain their original labels on their bellies and bases. The bottom label reads: "Coty New York Paris Informal fragrance. Use this lovely Eau de Toilette as lavishly as you choose. A generous sprinkle in your bath--a dash in your hand basin--in your final shampoo rinse--on your lingerie or 'kerchief'. Impart a touch of fragrance to your accessories or your furs. Take it with you to 'freshen up' while traveling. Cont. 5 oz. Compounded in U.S A."

Other Informal Fragrance Bottles:

Coty also introduced their Informal Fragrances in glass bottles similar to those from the 1930s. These bottles were packaged with a plastic atomizer head.

Flacon avec Bouchon Triangle Pointe de Diamant:

The “Bouchon Triangle Pointe de Diamant” model with its hot-gilded label and cut glass stopper. Bottle designed by Pierre Camin. Used for a variety of Coty perfumes.