Cadoro, or Cadoro Jewels Corporation, was a Manhattan-based jewelry company founded in 1954 by Steven Brody and Daniel Stoenescu (aka Staneskieu), specialising in fashionable costume jewelry sold via department stores such as Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue. The company closed in 1987 following Brody's retirement as president.

Company history

Steven Stuart Brody (1919 or 1926, Philadelphia – 23 December 1994) initially studied business administration at Wharton School, Pennsylvania, then attended the

Curtis Institute of Music The Curtis Institute of Music is a private conservatory in Philadelphia. It offers a performance diploma, Bachelor of Music, Master of Music in opera, and a Professional Studies Certificate in opera. All students attend on full scholarship. Hi ...

. After a stint as an actor in radio soap operas, he went to Paris, where he met Daniel Stoenescu (1921-after 1970), son of the Romanian artist

Eustațiu Stoenescu Eustațiu Stoenescu ( Craiova, 1884-New York City, 1957) was a Romanian painter principally known for his portraiture. Eustatiu Stoenescu family originated from Oltenia in Romania. His father was a senator and his mother Mathilda was born in Brittan ...

, and nephew of Princess Ghika, who proposed they go into jewelry design together. Cadoro, which was launched on

Fifth Avenue Fifth Avenue is a major and prominent thoroughfare in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It stretches north from Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village to West 143rd Street in Harlem. It is one of the most expensive shopping stre ...

, became known for inventive jewelry which used chenille and plastics alongside more traditional crystals, brushed gold, and enamel for designs which were bought by the likes of

the Duchess of Windsor Wallis, Duchess of Windsor (born Bessie Wallis Warfield, later Simpson; June 19, 1896 – April 24, 1986), was an American socialite and wife of the former King Edward VIII. Their intention to marry and her status as a divorcée caused ...

and Barbra Streisand. In 1969, Cadoro also designed body jewellery in the form of filigree bras and breastplates for wearing with trendy see-through clothing to enable followers of fashion to preserve their modesty. Cadoro's metal "breastplates" were inspired by a statue of Venus found at

Pompeii Pompeii (, ) was an ancient city located in what is now the ''comune'' of Pompei near Naples in the Campania region of Italy. Pompeii, along with Herculaneum and many villas in the surrounding area (e.g. at Boscoreale, Stabiae), was buried ...

. The following year in 1970 Brody and Stoenescu were two of a group of costume jewelry designers awarded special Coty Awards, alongside

Alexis Kirk Alexis Kirk (29 December 1936 – 17 May 2010) was an American jewelry designer who also designed clothing and fashion accessories. Early life Kirk, although born in Los Angeles, and brought up in New England, self-identified as Armenian. H ...

, Marty Ruza, Cliff Nicholson and the first black recipient of a Coty, Bill Smith. Cadoro designs for that year were Indian-themed, following on from an African and Pre-Columbian art-inspired collection in polished wood and carved gold and silver. Examples of Cadoro jewelry are held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art. Brody became president of the company in 1960, and when he retired in 1987, the company also closed down. He died at the Beth Israel Medical Center on December 23, 1994, of pneumonia following a long illness.

References

{{Authority control Design companies established in 1954 Design companies disestablished in 1987 American jewelry designers Jewelry companies of the United States 1954 establishments in New York City 1987 disestablishments in New York (state)