Marilyn Cooperman Brooches
It didn’t matter that Marilyn F. Cooperman didn’t have any formal training when well-known American luxury jeweler Fred Leighton asked her to design jewelry. By then, she had written professionally about fashion, established her own clothing company, and built up so much New York City chutzpah that she could have made it anywhere.
When she was 20 years old, the Toronto-born Cooperman moved to New Zealand and wrote a newspaper column about fashion and beauty. In 1963, she relocated to New York City and opened her first clothing company, Max and Marilyn, where she sold Art Deco–inspired clothing to department stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue, Bergdorf Goodman and Bloomingdale’s.
Cooperman designed a collection of resort wear for Fred Leighton’s apparel store, but by the mid-1970s, she returned to writing and worked as a fashion director for Seventeen magazine and later held editing roles at Simplicity and Vogue Patterns.
In 1987, Leighton, an esteemed red carpet jeweler who has become known for bringing antique and 20th-century jewels to a discerning international clientele, asked Cooperman to design accessories for his store on Madison Avenue. She accepted his offer and took up studies on wax casting at the Fashion Institute of Technology.
After five years of designing for Leighton, Cooperman opened her own jewelry company, Marilyn F. Cooperman, Inc. Her earrings were brightly colored, eye-catching confections that featured opals, rubies and blue sapphires, and she created innovative, alluring bracelets that mixed patinated silver and 18-karat gold. Her accessories were a hit, especially among celebrities, political figures and royalty.
Cooperman’s jewelry is held in the collections of the Museum of Arts and Design in New York City, the Yale University Museum, and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. She was on the Board of the American Society of Jewelry Historians.
On 1stDibs, find vintage Marilyn F. Cooperman earrings, brooches and rings.
Early 2000s American Modern Marilyn Cooperman Brooches
Yellow Diamond, Yellow Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Pearl, Moonstone, Emeral...
Early 2000s American Modern Marilyn Cooperman Brooches
Diamond, Moonstone, 18k Gold, Silver
Early 2000s American Modern Marilyn Cooperman Brooches
Brown Diamond, Peridot, Sapphire, Tsavorite, 18k Gold, Silver
1980s Contemporary Vintage Marilyn Cooperman Brooches
Early 2000s American Modern Marilyn Cooperman Brooches
Moonstone, Pearl, Diamond, 18k Gold, Silver
Mid-20th Century Marilyn Cooperman Brooches
Crystal
Early 2000s Thai Baroque Marilyn Cooperman Brooches
Amethyst, Aquamarine, Garnet, Peridot, Blue Sapphire, Pink Sapphire, Top...
1820s Unknown Georgian Antique Marilyn Cooperman Brooches
Diamond, Pearl, Silver
1970s French Vintage Marilyn Cooperman Brooches
Diamond, Emerald, Sapphire, 18k Gold
1940s South American Art Deco Vintage Marilyn Cooperman Brooches
Vermeil, Sterling Silver
2010s American Modern Marilyn Cooperman Brooches
Crystal
1940s American Retro Vintage Marilyn Cooperman Brooches
Vermeil, Sterling Silver, Enamel
Late 20th Century Marilyn Cooperman Brooches
Gold Plate
1960s Vintage Marilyn Cooperman Brooches
Diamond, Pearl, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1940s Vintage Marilyn Cooperman Brooches
1960s American Vintage Marilyn Cooperman Brooches
Coral, 14k Gold
1890s Unknown Art Nouveau Antique Marilyn Cooperman Brooches
Diamond, Peridot, Yellow Gold, Enamel
1990s North American Marilyn Cooperman Brooches
Diamond, Emerald, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold, Silver
1990s American Marilyn Cooperman Brooches
Amethyst, Blue Sapphire, Pink Sapphire, 18k Gold
