Lightyears Collection
Émeraude
Coty
(1921)

Click on image to enlarge Emeraude

The amazing point about Coty's Émeraude is that it was introduced in 1921 and is still on the market. If fact, through the 1950's and 1960's, Émeraude was one of Coty's best selling fragrances.

Yes, it is true that Chanel's No. 5 has also been on the market since 1921 and continues to make sales today. But No. 5 was one of a handful of fragrances developed by Chanel perfumes. They had to sell it! But Émeraude is one of dozens of fragrances developed by Coty over the years and it had to compete with all the other Coty fragrances to survive.

François Coty, perfumer, creator of Émeraude and founder of the Coty perfume empire, has been called a genius, both for his ability to create great perfumes and for his business ability. But when the experts discuss Coty's greatest fragrances, the name Émeraude does not make the cut. It wasn't a revolutionary fragrance, it didn't use new perfumery materials, there was no special marketing attached to it, it didn't rely on a beautiful Rene Lalique bottle for its sales. It was simply a fragrance that was pleasing to women — and women were Coty's market.

Émeraude has gone through some reformulations over the years. Yet the Émeraude of our (cheap) Emeraude Spray Mist from the 1950's or 1960's is distinctly the same scent and has the same persistance as is found in the scent of the Émeraude shown here.

Coty launched his U.S. operation in 1913. To avoid customs duties, components were shipped to America separately and then assembled in his U.S. plant. Hence, no "Made In France" (although his boxes refer to the fragrance as having been created in his "Perfume City" outside of Paris). This bottle is a New York edition of Émeraude (in the U.S., it was simply Emeraude, without the acute accent mark) and appears to be an early one, as the bottle uses a glass stopper and glass stoppers were discontinued in the 1930's in favor of new, colorful, decorative — and cheaper — bakelite stoppers. The bottle itself once held .34 ounces of Émeraude. What is left in this bottle still has the classic Émeraude fragrance.

If you have any comments on Émeraude or Coty, please share them with us using the message sender below.

• Eva-Marie Segerstedt , 06/11/2024. Hello there !
  Im a 71 year old woman , from Sweden ! An old friend of mine , and I , was taking the other night .. bringing up memories , from our younger days .. we talked about almost everything, from school to fashion ( we were much in to that ) and make up ., well , that’s something , (that we also really enjoyed ) , back in the days .. we were , teenagers , around 14 -15 .. in the middle of the 60 th :s !
  And then she mentioned, “ do you remember that perfume , you loved.. it was green and it was a very special scent .. “I believe , you’ve tried it in a shop , and you really wanted to have it “”! But it was so expensive, “ at least for us teens ! “But I think you’ve got it , for your birthday “ .. ! And then it hit me ,( I’had forgotten about it ) but memories , came back .. oh , how I loved that perfume ! And we talked and tried to come up with it’s name .. I remembered, it was Coty .. but not the name of the fragrance.. but , then we looked it up on the internet ..( that’s something that has changed since our youth ) and there it was .. oh my .. and there was a shop that actually, got it .. and they’ve , had it in small samples ( 5 ml ) , that you could order , for a smaller sum ! And of course I did that ! I received it yesterday , and I was both happy , and a little nervous ! Should I recognize it , was the scent , as I remembered it .. would I like it .. ?? I opened the package, and there it was .. a little plastic bottle , I couldn’t wait , I sprayed a little on my wrist , and I got a little confused! Yes , there was some similarities, but , in the same time , not .. I sat down , and let it sit for a while , then I smelled it again .. but there’s something, that bothers me .. ! Oh , I know.. It’s been over 50 years , since I smelled it , so , maybe the memories , are fooling me .. or maybe my “nose “ .. isn’t the same after all this years! Or maybe the perfume ( the ingredients ) has changed ! Well .. I don’t know , maybe a mix of everything ! But it’s definitely, the same perfume .. and of course , I recognize, it .. but it’s funny , how , memories, can play with your mind ! Oh .. sorry , this was a long story , but it was so funny and in the same time , a little sad .. maybe , I should have stacked to my memories, and not bought it .. ! But as the same time , I have it on now , and I can smell the special, scent , that I one’s loved so so much .. and it brings back , some happy memories , of wonderful times , in my teenage years.. so it makes me happy ! I just wanted to share this with you , and I hope it was a nice bit of history, about a perfume from a famous perfume maker ( Mr Francois Coty ) , from the 1920 th:s and how it ended up in a teenage room , at a 15 years old Swedish girl ! And , how it 55 years later , has ended up in that ( nowadays, a little older ) girls table , once again ! The history repeats itself! Thanks !

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• Kris , 04/10/2024. Emeraude has been one of my very favourite fragrances since I was little. There’s nothing else like it.
  Other favourites include Jontue, Jean Natè, Loves Baby Soft and Tigress by Faberge
  All except Tigress are still made. I’m hopeful it will be made again
  I prefer the older fragrances as it brings me back to simpler and fun times.
  
  

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• Nicolas Mills, 12/23/2023. I have in my possession the machine stamp for emeraude that was in with a box of old lighters and and watches I got as a job lot donkeys years ago. I contacted the company to see if they were interested in reaquiring it as it is part of their history but never got past a young person who had no idea of it's worth. I use it as a paperweight now
  

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• Carol Norden, 08/17/2023. My Mother was born in 1900 and used your perfume Elegance from the day it came out in 1921 till she died at the age of 96. Not Elegance, Emeraude.
  
  

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• Deborah Wilson, 01/13/2017. Emeraude was my mother's fragrance when I was growing up...my niece bought it for me at Christmas this year after I mentioned it.
  Spraying it on Christmas morning took me back in time...to when I was 8 years old (1968) and my mother smoothing my brow, or cleaning a scraped knee, hugging me when I cried, getting ready to greet my father at the end of his work day, so many memories with this fragrance and all good. She
  has been gone for 4 years now and I miss her so much. This fragrance is comforting to me in ways hard to explain. I have expensive perfumes that I use but this one is for the memories and for a comfort like no other
  comfort in the world - that of a mother's love. Thanks for keeping it on the market.