Unsigned Trifari - Two pieces, pic heavy!

[christinesclassicjewelry]

Hi everyone, 

I know this has been discussed here before, multiple times, and the consensus is that there is next to no unsigned Trifari. I have come across a few pieces in my time that have all the tell tale signs of Trifari, construction, design, types of stones, etc, but I always just thought, nah, just a different designer that looks similar. Well, now I have one piece that I am just about certain is an old Trifari, that is unsigned.

There is one brooch currently listed on eBay that matches this one perfectly and is signed, search for SUPERB KTF Trifari Vintage Large Double Flower Brooch and it should come up for you. I have shown an enlarged picture of the back of mine where the other one shows a signature. Also on the Morning Glory website, they have a few pieces in the same line as this brooch, and looking at the back pics I don't see clear signatures on them although the pictures aren't very large to zoom in. On that page, which I have included a screen grab from, they also state they are included in Christie Romero’s "Warman’s Jewelry, 2nd Ed, page 206. This leads me to be almost certain that my brooch is an old Trifari piece, and that they maybe didn't sign all their early pieces.

Onto the second piece, a small 1" crown brooch. This thing matches the Trifari crown brooches with moonstone colored cabochons to a T, but again is not signed. The construction is perfect for Trifari as well, but I couldn't find anything that matches anywhere. So, what do you guys think? Would you list the first piece as unsigned Trifari, do you think the second piece could be as well? Do you think Trifari could have been putting out unsigned pieces, that just kind of got lost to time and no one has documented them?

Close up of where the glare/imperfections in the finish make it look like there could be a signature, but there isn't one.

[dream*peddler]

This is the fun and frustration of costume jewelry, christine!  There's an exception to every rule🤔.   I picked up an early Trifari brooch the other day and the cartouche fell off the back.   It left a small silvery mark.  Fortunately, I kept it and will send it with the lot if my buyer ever pays.   I also have what looks just like the small Trifari eagle, except it's not signed.  It's got every other feature, though.  

I agree that your brooch looks similar, if not identical, to the signed one, but if you advertise it as unsigned Trifari you might have some doubters.  You just have to hope they read your full description.

I have some reservations about the crown brooch.  I've had 2 sets of the moonstone and one of the rhinestone Trifari crown sets.  Trifari made variations on this design and there are also many copies.  I lean towards maybe not on the crown brooch.

[flipping_treasures]

Agree with Dream.  I would say yes on the brooch, but not so much on the crown. 

As far as ALWAYS SIGNED Trifari, I don't think so.

I have collected Trifari Petalette critters for years.  I have never found a signed one.  The patents, yes, signed no.  And all the ones I have looked at over the years being offered by other sellers, have not been signed either.

You might check out this page of my image event site:  <h2>Patent Pieces</h2> (imageevent.com)

Note the petalette Trifari pieces and their patents and then go down to picture 61 and take a look at the Is It or Isn't It pieces.

[christinesclassicjewelry]

Sandy, thanks so much for that link! I didn't have that one bookmarked, and I hadn't come across the petalettes yet. I had no clue they were all unsigned. I know a lot of copies were made of Trifari pieces off of the patents, and have come across a few of them myself. To me, it was never hard to tell that it wasn't Trifari due to the quality of them. The plating was always not as well done, as well as other construction issues. That's what had me questioning this little crown. The quality is definitely there... but after looking more closely at Dream's and other Trifari crowns, I see the small differences. I've never had one in hand before, so only have pics to go by.

Also, Dream, it is the fun part of costume jewelry, for sure! I love researching this stuff, and time spent looking at pictures is always time well spent for me! As far as my brooch goes, I'm pretty sure there wasn't a cartouche signature, did they make any of those with the KTF signature? There is a spot of the gold plating loss at the center on mine, but it isn't rough where I would think something would have come off. I will be taking great care in listing it and make sure to put a very detailed description on the identification of this one. There are a couple of the teeny tiny rhinestones missing, so I will probably be replacing those before I list.

Also, Sandy, I love your page on the patents, showing the piece next to the patent. If you are interested in expanding it beyond your own collection, I could definitely help with the pieces I find or have had in the past (if I can find them again in my multitudes of folders of pictures!)

[flipping_treasures]

Thank You Christine.  I don't know if you have had a look at the complete Image Event site.  There is so much more to this site than just the one page:  Albums By Sandy Carroll - ImageEvent

Yes, I do plan on expanding all the albums on this site and will be looking for additions from the board.  This site started as a collaboration from members of the original jewelry board members, and I strive to give credit to everyone that contributed.  I will be putting out a call for additions to the site.  I'm hoping that by the 20th of this month I will be in a position to start updating. 

So yes everyone, please start looking for what you may have to contribute to the many different albums and pages of this site.  Also, if you have any suggestions, I'm willing to take a look.  I have the ability to add 2600 more pictures to this site and will expand it if need be.  

[mscurl]

Can I answer a question with a question? Seeing that these two pieces are so similar, tho not exact, to marked Trifari, were Trifari designs actually copied by other companies? Was costume jewelry of this period copied? Since the production and material costs were relatively low, why bother with a copied design?  And, if they were copied, was it during the same time, or much later? Just wondering.

[dream*peddler]

Costume jewelry was absolutely copied.  There's a site called "Real or Repro" that shows a lot of fakes.  Even though Trifari and Coro had patents on their designs, they were still copied but with a small change or two that didn't infringe on the patent protection.  That's why a lot of fakes are hard to spot and why each piece has to be scrutinized closely for authenticity, especially with high end pieces.

[mscurl]

Fascinating! Thank you. I learned something new today. 

[flipping_treasures]

As dream said, designs were copied then and even now copies are being made of the high-end pieces.  There are pieces of costume jewelry that sell for hundreds of dollars today, hence why there are newer copies being made.  Back then it was because a design had caught on and others wanted to profit from the popularity of a design. 

Now to a catch twenty-two.

There were design companies that manufactured their own designs such as Trifari and Coro.  Then there were manufacturing companies that sold pieces to other companies that would put the name of the buying company on items they bought.  It is possible to find exact pieces with different names on them or no name at all.  Then there is Weiss, who bought from any number of manufacturing companies and marketed the pieces under the Weiss name.

A few years back, old molds were found of some of the vintage pieces with the Weiss name on them.  They were resurrected and pieces were made from the old molds.  I like to call them "new Weiss".  The quality and use of stones, in my opinion, are nowhere the same as the "old Weiss", but since they were made from the same molds, are they or are they not Weiss? 

And then there are the sets of say a bracelet, necklace, earrings, and ring, or a combination of them, where only one piece is signed.  Does that make the other pieces less than the signed piece?

Signed costume jewelry ... as I said ... a real catch twenty-two.

[old.crows.nest]

Even Modern Designers are copying the old Masters.

I have thought I knew a piece's Maker but when I turned it around there was a name of, say, Joan Rivers. Very disappointjng.

[mscurl]

Thank you ALL for sharing your wisdom.  I am a long time constant lurker here because I just love reading and absorbing the decades and decades of your combined knowledge. I was afraid to ask what I thought was such a silly question, but your grace, patience and knowledge are remarkable  truly appreciated. Heartfelt thanks! 

[eclecticjools]

You can check this Instagram page with the actual ads for the "Petalettes" (that was only the name for the two dancers, btw):   https://www.instagram.com/p/CkUDjL2O54g/?next=%2F

All the ad images are copyrighted so cannot be reproduced in an auction but it provides confirmation of the "critters" and the years they were offered.