Vintage early 1940s molded plastic figural brooch features a long-tailed cockatoo sitting on a flowering branch and is set with multi-color (plastic) rhinestones. The two colors of the molded plastic (red and clear) have been cold-enamelled with black and yellow (on the bird’s body) and green and blue (on the branch).

Evocative of the birds in Coro's popular “Calopsitta” duette, patented by Gene Verecchio in 1941, this brooch may have been inspired by or even a deliberate imitation of Coro’s design, which was executed in enamelled metal with glass rhinestones. It is a lovely example of the often whimsical figurative brooches made as alternatives to metal costume jewelry through the WWII years, meant to keep spirits high and women fashionably accessorized in a national statement of patriotic resolve. Photo #3 shows an ad from 1943 with an almost identical design.

Measures 3 ½” tall and 1 ½” across the center. Despite its size, the brooch is extremely lightweight, making it an ideal accent for warm-weather fashions. Its long pinstem closes quite securely with a plastic C-clasp.

Very good condition, with a touch of wear to the black enamel and yellowing to the rhinestones in the “crest.”

Proud Member of the VFG Vintage Fashion Guild