Valuable Research Information and Trifari Pieces!
Here you will find links to other valuable pages, the different Trifari designers, key Trifari dates and even examples of the different earring clip backs that Trifari used throughout the years!
Click on the blue box or the blue hyperlink to see the described items.
Select from all Trifari.   To select  jewelry type you will make a selection on the left of the items.
Select from all Trifari.   To select  jewelry type you will make a selection on the left of the items, far bottom.
On this page you can select specific years or view patents that are grouped into 14 different categories such as people, birds, insects, fish, crowns and fruits & veggies!
See different makers marks Trifari used through the years and all the trademarks they applied for.
Here you will find different Trifari collections, advertisements & their patent information
Trifari Designers 
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Alfred Philippe - 1930 - 1968 Head designer
Joseph Wuyts - 1940 (he was a freelancer who was also working for Mazer Bros - 20 Trifari patents)
David Mir - 1941 - 1942  (he was a freelancer who was also working for Leo Glass - 9 patents total)
Alfred Spaney - 1941 - 1942 (he collaborated on fall 1941 and spring 1942 collections. 25 patents total)
Norman Bel Geddes - 1941 (I was only able to find 2 design patents #129,164 and #129,165.)
George Bachner - 1945 (I was only able to find one of his design patents #141,435.)
Jean Paris - 1958 - 1965 (designed for Trifari for 7 years.)
Andre Boeuf - 1967 - 1979 (replaced Alfred Philippe when he retired)
Jonathan Bailey - 1970 (the 1970 Trifari advertisement shows he designed the "Sculpturessque" collection)
Diane Love - 1970 - 1971 (she was a freelance designer - 50 designs)
Jacques Philippe (Alfred's son) - 1971 - 1974
Kunio Mataumo - 1970's (even though his are newer pieces they are highly collectible right now!)
Kenneth Jay Lane - Probably 1970's (I have seen a necklace with the paper hang tag for Trifari)
Aldo Cipullo - Unknown period in the 1970's and 1980's
​Marcella Saltz - Unknown period after 1982 and before 2000.  

Key Dates
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1912  ​After working for several years with his grandfather in Italy, another jewelry manufacturer in the United States and then his uncle Ludovico Trifari, Gustavo Trifari started his own business.

1918  Leo Krussman joined Trifari and they became Trifari and Krussman.  They manufactured mostly hair ornaments but they did make some jewelry.

​1925 ​Carl Fishel joined the two and they bacame Trifari, Krussman & Fishel, Inc.
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1926 Trifari, Krussman & Fishel, Inc. first design patents.  (I found it interesting that the earliest patents I was able to find for Trifari, Krussman and Fishel, Inc. were actually in 1926 for a vanity set including a file, a brush and a mirror!)

1932  Trifari's first utility patent.  It was patent # 1,878,028 for an early version of their clip-mate.

1936  While Trifari's head designer, Alfred Philippe's, actually joined the company in 1930, these were the first patents I could find of his on record.  The first one is for his version of the clip-mate which he actually called "lingerie clips".  It was patent # 2,050,804.

​1937  Alfred Philippe's first design patents on record were this year.  The very first one was # D103,595.  All the patents this year were some type of pin, clip, brooch.

1938  Alfred Philippe's first bracelet and necklace patents on record were this year.  The very first one was # D108,880.

1939  Trifari started making matching sets which included necklaces, bracelets and brooches.
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1943  There are only 17 Trifari patents this year. I believe there were not as many this year because of the limitations on materials due to the war restrictions.  Most of what they did make would have been sterling silver with very few rhinestones compared to previous years. Some of these pieces would be "vermeil" which means that they are plated with a gold of at least 10 karat. They also started using clear acrylic (possibly Plexiglass or Lucite - both these companies started business in the early 1930's) as the main parts of the jewelry and these became popular as the "jelly bellies".  It is said that they shaped unusable (broken or cracked) windshield material from the WW II airplanes. There are people that claim "jelly belly" in many different colors but the true "jelly bellies" are always clear.  The jelly belly pieces are some of the most collectible Trifari jewelry!

1947  Trifari developed "Trifanium" - a special casting metal that was used to create their jewelry.  Pieces made with this new alloy were cast, filed, polished and plated.  These pieces were either a "golden-toned Trifanium" or a "platinum-toned Trifanium".  This started being advertised in some of the 1948 advertisements.  This is also possibly the first year Trifari used the "J" hook instead of the spring ring clasp or the fold over clasp.  They pretty much transitioned almost completely by 1951.

1948  With the wartime materials restrictions completely lifted now the use of sterling silver is replaced with the use of a rhodium plating finish.  It was available before this time but not widely used yet because the process along with the metal was too expensive (rhodium is the most expensive metal available - even more expensive than gold!).  After the war a new process was developed that would put a thinner coating on the base metal thus making it more reasonable for use with high quality costume jewelry. The rhodium plating was a very shiny silvery-white color that didn't tarnish - it helped the jewelry look beautiful much longer!  

1951  This is the year Trifari started transitioning from fold over clasps to extension chains and 'J' hooks on most all of their necklaces.  Previous to this date, their "collar necklaces" were generally really short ranging from about 13 1/2 inches to 15 1/2 inches long. After this date you will still find a few without the extension chain (especially in 1952 while they are using up their remaining supplies) but not very many were designed that way any more.

1953  This is the year Trifari gained even more popularity when they were commissioned to design the jewelry that Mamie Eisenhower would wear to the 1953 Inaugural Ball!  

1954  Trifari's advertisement "Her Favorite Santa Gives Her Jewels by Trifari" shows that Trifari started to copyright some of their designs this year.  You can see this by the notations in small print at the bottom of the advertisement stating that the designs are either patent pending, patent granted or copyrighted.

1955  Trifari's last design patents were this year.  The last one was patent # D174,650.  After this Trifari, along with most other costume jewelry companies, started copyrighting their jewelry designs.  While companies could actually protect their designs with copyrights as early as 1947, most jewelry companies did not (except possibly Coro).  It wasn't until Charel Jewelry Company copied Trifari's "Bolero" designs and Trifari took them to court and won (in 1955) that companies felt like their designs would actually be protected under the copyright law.  It was then that most costume jewelry companies began using the copyright process because it was cheaper, easier and quicker to obtain than a patent.  
This was also the year that the Swarovski Company perfected the aurora borealis coating for their crystals.  This coating had a beautiful rainbow colored effect similar to the aurora borealis lights in the Northern Skies - hence the name! If you have a piece of jewelry with this coating it probably wasn't made before 1955.  

1956  Trifari's first use of aurora borealis coated rhinestones.  Swarovski started the process in the early 1950's but did not perfect the 'rainbow' colored metalic coating until 1955 and the first Trifari I have seen with the coating was a 1956 brooch called "Leaf" from their 1956 "Merry Christmas Jewels by Trifari" advertisement.

1957  Trifari started using a new type of simulated pearl and started using a brushed metal. This date is made evident from their 1957 "Precious Pet" collection.  The advertisement read "she can't see a thing but FANTASIA by Trifari.  One Touch Of Whimsy!  Precious pets to caper on a collar... light on a lapel... scintillate on a sleeve.  Starring the new pearl-like jewel made from the iridescent shell of the oyster... set exquisitely in rich, delicately textured Trifanium, enriched with fabulous fake black diamonds."  This type of brushing or texturing was more cost effective than the previous method of hand polishing the pieces to a shiny finish. From the advertisements it looks like they brushed most of their metal by 1962.

1970 - 71  Diane Love designed approximately 50 pieces for Trifari.  These pieces are still highly collectible! 

1975  Hallmark Jewelry Company purchased Trifari

1988  Crystal Brands, Inc. purchased Trifari

1994  Chase Capital Partners (a division of the Monet Group) purchased Trifari

2000  Liz Claiborne purchased the Monet Group (Trifari included) and moved the jewelry production overseas.  Trifari jewelry at this point is a lot lesser quality and no longer marked on the piece (although some of them do have the round metal hang tag with a crown in the center).  These pieces are also not vintage and not very collectible.  

Current  (possibly purchased in 2006) Currently owned by Kate Spade & Company Corporation
Different Trifari Earring Clips used throughout the years.
Clip on the back of a 1948 Trifari earring patent #150,445
Clip on the back of a 1948 Trifari earring patent #151,533
Clip on the back of a 1949 Trifari "4 Leaf Clover" earring patent #155,183. 
Clip on the back of a 1949 Trifari "Snowflake" earring patent matching brooch patent was #155,214.  From the design it actually looks like it was made closer to 1950.
Clip on the back of a 1950 Trifari "Lucky Clover" earring patent #160,336 the "PAT PEND" is actually on the underside of the clip.
Underside of the clip.
​Clip on the back of a 1950 Trifari "PetalTime" earring.
​​Clip on the back of a 1951 Trifari "Dogwood" earring and 1951 patent # 164,947 diamond shaped earrings.
C​lip on the back of a 1951 Trifari "Gem of India" earring patent #164,728
Clip back for a 1952 Trifari earring.  I have also seen this clip back on the back of a 1953 earring.
This is also a clip back for 1952 Trifari "Spring Fantasy" earring.  ​The patent that was eventually granted for these earrings was patent # 165,542.
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As you can see by these last 4 photos, Trifari, like many costume jewelry manufacturers, overlaps jewelry findings while they use up their supplies.
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Clip back for 1952 Trifari "Promenade" earring.  This looks like the year they started using this type of clip (although I have also found it on Oct 1951 patent 164,949). ​Notice the words "DESIGN PAT PEND" on the tops of the clips.
Clip back for Trifari 1953 "Comet" earring.  The patent for this one was patent #170,212.
Clip back for 1954 Trifari "Minuet" earring.  The patent that was eventually granted for these earrings was patent # 172,175.  
Clip back for the 1955 Trifari "Elude"  It has the crown over the "T" but no copyright symbol.  This is also when they transitioned from the 3 hole clip to the 4 hole clip.
Clip back for a 1965 earring.  Note the brushed texture.  This was less expensive to produce than the polished smooth finish they were using before.  At this point the only pieces that had the polished smooth backs were the more expensive lines like the Jewels of India collections.