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Trifari Vintage Costume Jewelry

Trifari vintage costume jewelry is both easy to find and also wonderfully collectable. Since Trifari began making jewelry in 1918 and continues even today, there are plenty of jewelry styles from which to choose.

Keep in mind, however, that it's the vintage Trifari jewelry that is most collectable, and pieces made before the 1970s are better.

Rhinestone Costume Jewelry Earrings by Trifari

Let's talk a little about Trifari and the types of jewelry they produced.

Trifari's History

Trifari was originally started by Gustavo Trifari, along with his uncle, Ludovico, and the company was called Trifari & Trifari. Later on, in 1918, Gustavo connected with Leo Krussman and founded Trifari and Krussman. Gustavo designed the pieces and Leo masterfully marketed them.

Jump ahead to 1925 and a gentleman by the name of Carl Fischel joined in the business, and it was renamed Trifari, Krussman & Fischel, which is where the Trifari mark "KTF" was born.

Something wonderful happened in 1930; designer Alfred Phillipe joined the company, and from 1930 through 1968 he was the top designer for the Trifari jewelry. Alfred was responsible for some of the most wonderful of the jewelry designs of those years.

Trifari was the originator of the famous "jelly belly" jewelry that other firms (including Coro) later copied. These were original designed iduring the World War II years, when rhinestones were hard to come by. Lucite had been patented in 1937, and Trifari took advantage of this creation for jewelry.

Marks Trifari Used

Since they have been in business for such a long time, the marks have changed throughout the years. Here's a sampling of the marks used.

The letter "T" with a crown over the T, 1920.
"Jewels By" written over "Trifari", with a crown over the T, 1920.
"KTF", 1935.
"KTF" with a crown over the T, 1935.
"Trifari" in normal print, no crown, 1937.
"Trifari" in normal print but with a thin crown, 1937.
"Trifari" in long, tall letters, with a crown over the T, 1930-1940.
"Trifari" in normal print, both with and without the crown, 1940-1950.
"Trifari Pat.Pend", 1940s.
"Trifari sterling", 1942-1947.
"Jewels by" in script before "Trifari" in normal print; a crown over the T, 1940's and 1950s.
"Trifari" with the copyright symbol and a solid crown, 1954.
"Trifari" in script, enclosed in a circle, 1970s and 1980s.
"Trifari" with a copyright symbol, a small crown, and enclosed in a rectangle, modern mark.

Please keep in mind that these are approximate dates, and marks were used until the markings ran out, so don't assume that the dates listed are on spot. They are approximate dates. The only dates that are pretty much "for sure" are the "Trifari sterling" marks.

About Collecting Trifari Costume Jewelry

Since there is a lot of Trifari vintage jewelry out there, look for pieces that are in excellent condition. Pieces that date from before 1947 are the most sought-after, and a bit more wear can be expected from them.

As with most of the large manufactures, sets are normally more collectible than single pieces. And book pieces or jewelry shown in advertisements also bring higher prices.

was well-made and you should be able to easily find a wonderful example of their vintage costume jewelry for your collection. Below you'll see a small sampling of the lovely pieces that are available on ebay. As always, click on the item for a larger photo and additional info.