Posts Tagged ‘trifari’
“Jelly Belly” Costume Jewelry
Jelly belly costume jewelry is a term I see quite often in auctions. But are the costume jewelry really the highly collectible "jelly belly" or are they mis-named? Let's talk about what's real and what's not.
What is Jelly Belly Costume Jewelry?
Jelly belly is a term that really means Trifari jewelry in the 1940s time frame. What with the war, rhinestones were getting hard to come by and Trifari was experimenting with lucite as part of their jewelry designs. The lucite was clear to very slighly translucent, and used for the body/belly of the figural pin. I've only seen clear -- no colored lucite (as yet, anyway). Also, I have only seen these as figural pins.
A short while after, Coro (among others) came out with their own version of figural lucite jewelry pins. Coro's are the most sought after (after Trifari). Technically, only Trifari is the true jelly belly, but most collectors will extend the term to Coro's versions as well.
What Isn't Jelly Belly
I see many auctions calling the jewelry "jelly belly" when it merely has a plastic or glass cabachon. Sometimes the cabachon stone is transluscent, sometimes it's totally opaque. Sometimes even jewelry with pearls or rhinestones are tagged as being jelly belly.
I've also seen bracelets, necklaces, earrings and even rings referred to as jelly belly. Not!
(I think in most cases it's a situation where the person running the auction just isn't familiar with the real thing. They see the term used for other cabachon jewelry and figure theirs should be called that as well.)
While these pieces might be lovely and collectible in their own right, they are not jelly belly. Don't pay a high price thinking they are!
A Note on Jelly Belly
The very collectible jelly belly is from the 1940s timeframe. However, Trifari and Coro did make more of it along the way -- I've seen vintage ads from the 1960s for jelly belly pins. These newer version are also quite collectible, but won't bring as high a price as the older versions.
Somethiong you need to know -- Trifari also has done some re-releases of their older pin designs; fortunately, they have marked the re-releases with the year. (Remember, Trifari is still in business and manufacturing jewelry.)
One Final Thought
As with any highly collectible and high-priced piece of costume jewelry, there are fakes out there. Sometimes the not-really-real jewelry is listed as a "reproduction", which is absolutely fine. Just know it's a reproduction and not the real thing -- and don't pay a high price.
Sometimes, well, a fake is passed off as the genuine article. It could be an honest mistake -- the person thought it was real when they bought it, not realizing it wasn't. Then again, it could be someone looking to make big bucks.
So the moral of the story is this: if you love the look of the authentic jelly belly jewelry and want to add some to your collection, do your homework first. If you are uncertain, ask a more knowledgable person to help you out. Don't pay a high price for jelly belly costume jewelry without knowing for sure that it's real.
All that being said, here are some auctions listed as being "jelly belly". Take a look, you should now be able to tell the ones that definitely aren't!
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US $24.99
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.
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