TRIFARI JEWELRY
Welcome
When I began work on this week's blog, I thought, "why reinvent the wheel? Surely, someone has done this already." So I set out to find someone who is knowledgeable about Trifari jewelry and buys and sells it. Who did I find? I found Christine Rivera of MyClassicJewelry.com who has been buying and selling Trifari jewelry since 2005. Thank you Christine for being so willing to share your knowledge of Trifari jewelry with everyone.
The Trifari Company - A Brief History
by Christine Rivera
The Early Years
In 1904 a young man from Naples, Italy arrived at Ellis Island, full of hope and promise, like many young men his age. His name was Gustavo Trifari and he was 20 years old.
A Vintage Postcard Showing Ellis Island
Gustavo began working for his uncle making costume jewelry. In 1910 they formed a new company named Trifari & Trifari. The company began to grow - in 1917 Leo Krussman joined as Sales Manager and the next year the company was renamed to "Trifari & Krussman." Another Sales Manager, Karl Fishel, joined the company in 1923 and in 1925 there was another name change to "Trifari, Krussman and Fishel." During that time, pieces were signed with the KTF stamp (with the large Trifari "T" at the center) as shown below.
"KTF" Stamp Used by Trifari, Krussman and Fishel
The Alfred Philippe Years
Due to the high quality of its jewelry, the company became very successful and in 1930 Alfred Philippe was brought in as head designer. He was a renowned jewelry designer who had worked for Cartier and Van Cleef & Arples designing fine jewelry. Due to the Great Depression, he didn't have as much freedom to design as he wished, so working with the less expensive materials used in costume jewelry was appealing to him. At Trifari Alfred Philippe was free to design as he chose, creating beautiful costume pieces that resembled fine jewelry.Alfred Philippe remained at Trifari until his retirement in 1968. His iconic designs are still highly prized today.
A few examples of his work:
Trifari Alfred Philippe "ClipMates" Convertible Brooch & Fur Clips Patented in 1936
Available at MyClassicJewelry.com
Trifari Alfred Philippe Large Sterling Crown Brooch in
Red, White, and Blue Patented in 1944
Available at MyClassicJewelry.com
Charming Trifari Alfred Philippe Elephant Pins, Patented in 1952
Lovely Alfred Philippe Gold Plated Leaf Brooch & Matching Earrings
with Glass Faux Pearls and Rhinestone Baguettes, Patented in 1954
Available at MyClassicJewelry.com
Striking White Lucite and Blue Rhinestones Bracelet from the 1960s
Available at MyClassicJewelry.com
Trifari in the 1970s and 1980s
Trifari continued to be run by its founder and sons until 1975, when the company was sold to Hallmark Jewelry Company. In the 1970s and 1980s the company commissioned various designers. Two of the most popular were Diane Love and Kunio Matsumoto.
1970s Vogue Ad for Trifari Diane Love Egyptian Collection
Trifari 1970s Beige Enamel Circle Links Necklace Designed by Kunio Matsumoto
Trifari 1970s Blue and Green Lucite Sea Shells Necklace,
Bracelet, & Earrings Set Designed by Kunio Matsumoto
1970s Kunio Matsumoto Pink Enamel Bangle Bracelet & Earrings Set
Available at MyClassicJewelry.com
The QVC Years
In 1988 the company was sold to Crystal Brands, and in 1994 sold to Chase Capital Partners and Lattice Holding Company, a division of the Monet Group.In the 1990s Trifari went back to some of their most popular Alfred Philippe designs to produce some fabulous high end collections distributed through QVC. Many of these were striking figurals such as the "Trifari Safari" collection. Most were limited editions that included classy gift boxes with cards indicating the collection name and how many were produced. These pieces are highly prized by collectors as the last of the signed Trifari Jewelry.
Rare Trifari "Safari" large alligator brooch with box and cards,
part of a Limited Edition of 350 sold on QVC
Large Trifari Tiger with Grey Eyes brooch from the 1991 Tiger Collection sold on QVC
Available at MyClassicJewelry.com
Trifari 1996 Large Glass Stones Maltese Cross convertible brooch/pendant sold on QVC
Available at MyClassicJewelry.com
1998 Trifari Pink Enamel and Rhinestones Flamingo brooch,
Limited Edition of 3,000 produced for sale on QVC
Available at MyClassicJewelry.com
In 2000 the Monet Group (including Trifari, Monet, and Napier) was purchased by Liz Claiborne and production was moved overseas, which brought an end to the high quality signed Trifari jewelry. Liz Claiborne Inc. continues to produce Trifari jewelry overseas. No longer signed, these inexpensive pieces are sold on Trifari cards - a far cry from the U.S. made high quality pieces produced when the company was "king of costume jewelry." Luckily, we can still find stylish vintage Trifari pieces from that era to wear and treasure for years to come.
Trifari Vintage Jewelry Patents filed by Alfred Philippe
Here is the drawing and description for the CLIP-MATES patent application, issued on August 11, 1936.
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If your jewelry has a patent number, you can easily search for it on the Google Patents site here: Google Patents. Just enter the patent number to search. Designs were usually produced for several years, so the patent date provides an approximate age for the jewelry.
Alfred Philippe remained as Trifari’s head designer until his retirement in 1968, and his wonderful patented designs can still be found today among Trifari vintage jewelry sellers and collectors.
For more information about vintage jewelry patents, see this article: Vintage Jewelry Patents: Find and Use them to Date Vintage Jewelry
Trifari Vintage Jewelry Signatures
Prior to 1955, the top jewelry designers patented their designs to protect them from other jewelry companies who might copy their designs. After 1955, the copyright law was changed to include jewelry designs. After that time, jewelry companies no longer had to patent their designs. They were able to stamp their jewelry with a copyright symbol to protect the designs.
Note: Trifari was very diligent about signing all of their jewelry. They would often publish ads in the fashion magazines informing customers that “If it isn’t signed, it isn’t Trifari.”
Because all Trifari vintage jewelry was signed, it’s easy to identify the approximate age with the signature. The chart below summarizes these marks.
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It’s important to note when a company had a large inventory of clasps or other findings that were already stamped, they would continue to use them on newer jewelry, so signatures will often overlap these dates.
In 2000, the company was sold to Liz Claiborne and production was moved overseas. Since then, lesser quality jewelry has been mass produced and sold on Trifari cards without any stamps on the jewelry. Recently, some necklaces have been produced overseas with a new Trifari hang tag, but these are not vintage pieces.
For a more detailed look at Trifari vintage jewelry marks, check out the guide here: My Classic Jewelry Trifari Vintage Jewelry Marks Guide
About the Author
Christine Rivera has been selling vintage jewelry since 2005. You can browse her online shop at http://www.MyClassicJewelry.com/shop/ and visit her blog at http://www.MyClassicJewelry.com/blog/
TRIFARI JEWELRY ON ETSY
CLICK HERE FOR TRIFARI JEWELRY FOR SALE ON ETSY
STORE OF THE WEEK
While shopping recently for vintage jewelry, I came
across a wonderful store on Etsy called Sarah's Vintage Baubles. It is owned and operated by Sarah Crutcher of
Dallas, Texas, who has been with Etsy since 2013. Sarah is so knowledgeable
about vintage jewelry and so personable as well. I liked shopping at her store so much that I
have been back several more times.
You've seen some of the pieces since I featured them in my jewelry blog. Thank you Sarah for all your help.
Sarah says her “joy is antique and vintage jewelry” because
there is so much history, romance and art in every beautiful piece.” She says she doesn’t miss all the
stress and anxiety of working in the corporate sector. Now she’s having a lot more fun with her store. Yes, Sarah, owning your own store and
being your own boss is sooooooooo much better.
Be sure to visit Sarah's Vintage Baubles and see for
yourself what a wonderful place it is to shop.
JEWELRY ADVICE/TIPS
Sarah Crutcher of Sarah's Vintage Baubles graciously agreed to write for you this week about International Selling. Her goal is to make selling worldwide less scary to those of you who have not tried it.
Increase Your Sales by Selling Worldwide
by Sarah Crutcher
Want to increase your sales and increase your profits? Why wouldn’t you?
Selling to foreign countries can increase your sales as much as 75%. American jewelry is quite an attraction to our neighbors in other countries. International sales can be a lot of fun. It gives you an opportunity to meet some really great people; and, sometimes share experiences. Many jewelry pieces are purchased for special occasions, in particular, weddings, birthdays or holiday celebrations. Sometimes, you will even receive pictures of the person wearing their special piece.
Should you decide to begin selling internationally, here are a few things to remember:
1. There are some countries the US is not allowed to do business with, to name a few, Afghanistan, Iran or Yemen. These are a few of what is referred to as "export controlled or embargoed countries." Lists of these countries are easily accessed via the internet.
Selling to foreign countries can increase your sales as much as 75%. American jewelry is quite an attraction to our neighbors in other countries. International sales can be a lot of fun. It gives you an opportunity to meet some really great people; and, sometimes share experiences. Many jewelry pieces are purchased for special occasions, in particular, weddings, birthdays or holiday celebrations. Sometimes, you will even receive pictures of the person wearing their special piece.
Should you decide to begin selling internationally, here are a few things to remember:
1. There are some countries the US is not allowed to do business with, to name a few, Afghanistan, Iran or Yemen. These are a few of what is referred to as "export controlled or embargoed countries." Lists of these countries are easily accessed via the internet.
2. Shipping costs are much higher than in the U.S. First Class International is the least expensive route, I have found. Of course, the Buyer is responsible for shipping and handling costs, as per your store.
3. Inform the international buyer; either before or after purchase, it will take 12 to 15 days, maybe longer, depending on customs, to receive their purchase. In some countries, you can only track the shipment to the point it leaves the US. The international buyer will have the tracking number to follow once it reaches international ground.
4. Don''t be afraid. You may have heard of some bad experiences with international customers, have been told to stay away; however, these are far and few in between.
COMMENT FROM BLOG OWNER: Etsy makes it so easy to have international customers. Two helpful features are international shipping calculations and filled out customs forms by Etsy from various pieces of information that you entered for the sale. I just started selling internationally and have had some of the biggest orders I've ever experienced. I'm glad I finally decided to try it.
THIS WEEK'S SPECIAL PROMOTION
Just in Time for Mother's Day
With Mother's Day right around the corner on May 8th, I thought it would be a could time to put my Nolan Miller Pave Rose Brooch on sale. I have six in inventory and am offering you a 20 percent off discount code. That means you can get one of these gorgeous brooches for your Mom for just $20.00. What a deal, and she will have a "Forever Rose." The discount code to use at checkout is ROSE20.
Nolan Miller Pave Rose Brooch
Available at SCLadyDiJewelry
REMINDERS
1. Mother's Day is on May 8th. That's just a few days away now. Do your shopping now before it's too late.
2. Think about the first impression your package is going to make to your customer when she receives it. This week, one of my orders was sent to me in a used pizza box. Come on folks, we can do better than this.
3. I also want to tell those of you who smoke to be mindful of what you used for packing materials. Anything made of paper will smell like tobacco smoke to your customer. Paper just seems to hold the odor. I just received two packages from smokers. One was packed with paper towels. The other one was packed with tissue paper. Both smelt really badly.
4. Make it easy for your customer to remember from where that beautiful piece of vintage jewelry came. Put your name on the box, in the box, on a tag, put it somewhere! Recently, I had some address labels made with my store name and web address so I can put them on the inside of the lids of my beautiful boxes going to my customers.
5. Remember that your jewelry shipments get bounced around a lot by the mail service. Therefore, it is especially important that you pack your jewelry so it won't move around inside the box and/or package.
6. Use Washi tape to seal your boxes. Not only does it come in a multitude of beautiful colors and designs, it is removable and will not damage the box. There are several people on Etsy who sell it at great prices. It's great for scrapbooking too. Another good choice is a piece of pretty ribbon. But don't use the type with wire in it. I stuck my hand in an envelope this week and got stabbed by a piece of wire ribbon. Boy was I unhappy.
Pick 8 Whole Rolls of Assorted Washi Tapes: 158 Patterns
Available at TheSewingPost
7. Make your business card dual purpose. Here are two great ideas for you to try.
8. Remember to check the right-hand column of the blog for new information.
AND IN THE END
WE LOVE JELLY BELLIES
Crown Trifari "Alfred Philippe" Brooch
Trifari Jelly Belly Penguin Brooch
Available at JustVintage4U
