Born on March 11, 1949, Sarah Coventry inspired her grandfather Lyman Knight Stuart (1898 – 1964) to name a brand of costume jewelry after her. Lyman Knight Stuart and his first wife Harriet Burt Sanford had three children, the eldest of whom was Margaret Coventry Stuart (1924 – 2012), mother of Sarah Coventry.

By this time, Lyman Knight Stuart was managing C. H. Stuart & Co founded by his father Charles Henry Stuart (1868 – 1950). C. H. Stuart & Co was a door-to-door sales company in Newark, N.Y. The company sold a variety of products, from cosmetics and cologne to China. In 1948 they established a subsidiary company Emmons Jewelers, that operated on the same principle, door-to-door sales.

Although Emmons and Sarah Coventry were founded around the same time, within a few months of each other, and operated on the same sales principles, Sarah Coventry became more successful. Sarah Coventry’s network of representatives, which numbered tens of thousands by 1960, spanned every state and every area.

Home Jewelry Shows

Local representatives of Sarah Coventry organized Home Jewelry Shows, where they advertised and sold their products.
Hostesses across the country invited friends and neighbors to their homes. They displayed and showcased jewelry, which was undoubtedly beautiful and high-quality, made by New York and Providence jewelers.

Sarah Coventry representatives also took orders for both existing samples and jewelry selected from catalogs. The most successful sellers received numerous incentives, including cash commissions, free jewelry, prizes, and bonuses. The best sellers were invited to trade conferences.

Advertising campaigns

There’s probably not a single American who hasn’t heard of the Sarah Coventry brand, based in Newark, New York. Advertisements for Sarah Coventry’s jewelry collections regularly appeared in popular magazines and on television. Not only models but also famous actresses participated in the advertising campaigns for Sarah Coventry, the world’s largest jewelry retailer.

The company’s success, as well as its profits, were enormous, leading to international expansion. Sarah Coventry Corporation opened branches in Europe, Canada, and Australia. Despite multi-million dollar profits, interest in jewelry, as well as in working from home, was declining.

Bankruptcy

Since 1982, the bankrupt Sarah Coventry Corporation has been bought and sold several times. According to the 1982 Jeweler’s Circular, Charles Kiesel became president of Sarah Coventry. Noteworthy, the new owners announced “Born again Sarah Coventry goes for the gold”. In 1984 JM sold Sarah Coventry to New York investor Bennett S. LeBow.

The company changed hands several times, closed and revived, until 2009. In fact, Sarah Coventry ceased to exist in 1981.

The one whose name was immortalized, Sarah Beale Gaffin, or Sarah Coventry, died on July 27, 2020. She was seventy-one.

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