05-19-2015 01:08 PM
Thanks to Pantone's "Color of the Year," I'm going to call the enamel color on this brooch Marsala . It's well-made and thickly gold-plated. Gives me a 50's vibe. I can't read nor recognize the mark. It's possibly french because there's an accent over the "e." I took the pic through a magnifying glass so that's the best I can do. Can't blame you if you can't make it out either, but I wouldn't be doing my due diligence if I didn't try. Oh, and what type of flower do you think it is? Thanks if you can help and thanks if you can't!
05-19-2015 03:25 PM
I have never seen a mark like that. It looks like a R7E with a star on the end of the E, a side ways check mark with a V and an O or G under the check mark
Carolyn
05-19-2015 05:12 PM
Thanks for taking a stab at it, Carolyn. The mark is so hard to read. Strangely, there is no star by the "e," but it sure looks like one in the picture. There's only an accent mark above the "e." Can't say I've ever seen a mark like that, either!
05-19-2015 05:33 PM
I don't have a clue on the mark but the flower is a dianthus, a type of carnation.
05-19-2015 05:37 PM
Oh great! That's a big help! Wrote it down and stuck it in the bag with the brooch. Thanks, CAV!
05-19-2015 06:46 PM
05-19-2015 06:52 PM
I also see a F L E with arrow pointing to the E but is that something under the arrrow?
05-19-2015 07:27 PM
Thanks, mermaid. I like the frilly edges of the leaves and the enamel color is different than the usual. Sunshine, there appears to be two tiny hash marks below the arrow. Tough nut to crack!
05-19-2015 09:22 PM
The "7" looks like an acid test mark to me. Doesn't look like it goes at all with the "R" and the "e".
05-22-2015 02:22 AM
The front looks fine, but I wonder if something happened to the bottom back of brooch. 3rd photo of mark shows some marks, indentations that may not have been there when it was made, possibly they overlap the intended mark.
I can't see the details of the front and back clearly and cannot judge by weight or details of construction, but this looks like an early Trifari piece to me, mid-1930s perhaps designed by Alfred Philippe. If those three marks are KTF by any chance, with top line of middle letter T extended over smaller letters K and F, this impression would be correct. I would look at the mark real close to see if any random marks are obscuring these letters, and research patents.
It's beautiful btw, and the comments about the type of flower seem right on! I thought carnation too.
05-22-2015 01:18 PM
05-22-2015 02:59 PM
Thank you very much for your suggestion, Ms. Sellainy! I did do a search for Trifari KTF brooches and found one similar. Item # 321586920605. That one is unsigned so I can't compare signatures. Try as I might, I can believe the first two letters might be KT, I just can't seem to turn that E into an F. Will search further, but thanks for the direction! OCN, thanks for hangin' with me to try and solve this sig puzzle . Wow, some of those KTF pieces are amazing!
05-22-2015 03:47 PM
You're welcome. Happy to help when I can. It's funny to me that others see an accented E. Try as I might, I don't see an E, but I do see the 3rd letter as a full F and it's the clearest one of all. Of course, you have the best view. You can hold the brooch and view the mark from various angles and I may be way off track. As long as you're satisfied that the mark isn't obscured by random wear marks, similar to the ones I see along the bottom edge, then I'm satisfied too.
Have a great weekend, to one and all.
05-22-2015 04:03 PM
05-22-2015 04:21 PM
Here's the patent design for the similar one - that is, if I can get it to post at a size you can view. If you can't see the attachment, it's des. 118,759 filed on 12/29/39, issued 1/30/40.