First Lady Mamie Eisenhower wore Trifari jewelry for both inaugurations. It is this prestige that helps make Trifari one of the most recognized names in vintage costume jewelry.
But is vintage Trifari jewelry worth money? Honestly, most signed pieces sell for about $40 to $150, but certain pieces go from hundreds to thousands of dollars, like the wartime bow brooch that sold for $450 and the popular Alfred Philippe Poinsettia Star brooch that fetched up to $4,000.
Trifari started in New York in the 1910s and became one of America’s leading makers of costume jewelry by the 1930s. The designer Alfred Philippe headed the studio from 1930 to 1968, designing the most collectible items today.
In this guide, you will learn to read Trifari marks, date pieces by decade, and see rare finds that recently sold for serious money.
How to Identify Vintage Trifari Jewelry (Marks, Signatures & Dating)
Spotting genuine Trifari jewelry is not really challenging because nearly every authentic piece carries a mark somewhere. To find out if a piece is really vintage, match the mark to its decade.
Is Trifari Jewelry Real Gold or Silver?
Vintage Trifari costume jewelry is generally gold-plated base metal, often over Trifanium alloy made by Trifari. In World War II, because of a lack of zinc and other base metals due to their utilization during the war, Trifari started using sterling silver, at times gold vermeil.
Those sterling pieces are stamped “Sterling” alongside the Trifari mark, and they’re some of the most valuable Trifari you can find.
Also, Trifari is known for plated costume jewelry, not solid gold, so treat a piece as gold-plated unless it carries a karat stamp. If you are not sure what a metal stamp means, this guide to old hallmarks explains each one.
The Trifari Signature Marks by Era
Because the Trifari signature changed a lot over the years, it’s the fastest way to date a piece. Below is a simple timeline you can use.
- KTF (1925–mid/late 1930s): Stands for Krussman, Trifari, Fishel. The earliest mark you’ll see, and pieces with this stamp are almost always pre-war and highly collectible.
- Trifari without a crown (Early 1930s onward; overlapping use): Plain “Trifari” with no crown, often with “Pat. Pend.” Used before the crown was added.
- Crown Trifari (1937 to mid-1950s): The famous little crown sitting above “Trifari.” This is the golden-era mark, and it’s what most serious collectors hunt for.
- Crown Trifari with © (Around 1955–1969): Same crown, but now with a copyright symbol. Introduced around 1955.
- Trifari © without crown (1970s–1980s): no crown, italicized “Trifari ©” or script logo.
- Trifari TM (1980s): Trademark symbol added. Pieces are still nice, but less collectible.
- Pat. Pend. or patent number: Sometimes stamped alongside the main mark. If you see one, you can look up the patent to date the piece down to the exact year.
Where to Find the Mark on a Piece
Marks are small and easy to miss, so know where to look.
- On brooches, check the back plate near the pin catch.
- On necklaces, look at the clasp itself or a small oval tag hanging near it.
- Earrings carry the mark on the reverse, usually near the clip or post.
- Bracelets are stamped on the inside of the clasp or on the tongue of a box clasp.
How to Spot Alfred Philippe Designs for Trifari
If the Trifari item in question has monetary value, there’s a good chance that its design was created by Alfred Philippe. He worked with the company from 1930 to 1968, and his trademark style is seen in the best-selling pieces.
Look for invisible-set stones where the gems sit flush with no visible prongs. This was his Cartier trick, and Trifari was one of the few costume makers to do it well. His Jelly Belly figurals, animals with a clear Lucite center belly, and fruit salad pieces are icons of 1930s and 1940s costume jewelry.
Philippe’s designs are also usually the ones with named collections, such as Starflight Fireworks, Jewels of India (including its Moghul pieces), L’Opera and Fontainebleau. If a Trifari piece has a collection name, research its history first.
Dating Trifari Jewelry by Decades
After the mark, the design style itself tells a lot about vintage Trifari jewelry. Here’s what each decade looked like:
- 1930s: Art Deco geometric shapes, KTF-marked dress clips, early crown motifs.
- 1940s: Sterling silver bases due to wartime metal restrictions, Jelly Bellies, patriotic red-white-blue pieces, retro bows and ribbons.
- 1950s: Rhinestone-heavy floral sprays, invisible sets, matched parures with brooches, earrings, and necklaces.
- 1960s: Bold themed collections like Jewels of India and Starflight, larger scale, more color.
- 1970s onward: Modernist styles, Diane Love’s ancient-inspired pieces, and declining collectibility for most everything else.
Most Valuable Trifari Jewelry Finds Worth Money
Below are the 10 Trifari pieces that generally fetch premiums today. Pay attention to the design details to spot these rare finds in a lot.
1. Alfred Philippe Poinsettia Star Brooch
This is one of Philippe’s most spectacular designs. It uses invisibly set ruby glass, where the red stones slot together like tiles with no prongs showing.
He borrowed the trick straight from his Cartier days. Collectors say it was featured in Women’s Wear Daily in the early 1960s, and the design was also made with blue sapphire-colored stones.
- Estimated Value: $3,000 to $5,000
- Production Years: circa 1961
- What to Check: Invisible-set ruby glass
- Quick Notes: Published in WWD, also made in sapphire blue
2. Modernist Diamante Bowknot Set
This is a full Trifari parure: necklace, brooch, and matching earrings, all signed. The design uses a repeating bowknot motif with pavé rhinestones and larger bezel-set diamante crystals.
Complete parures are where Trifari value multiplies. A single piece sells for much less on its own, but together this set sold for $1,275 because collectors love matching sets.
- Estimated Value: $1,000 to $1,500 (complete set)
- Production Years: 1950s to early 1960s
- What to Check: All three signed, matching finish
3. Sterling Clear Jelly Belly Brooch
Sterling Jelly Bellies are among Trifari’s most valuable pieces. During WWII, Trifari switched to sterling silver because base metals were rationed, and Philippe used the moment to create some of his finest figural work.
Always check for both “Sterling” and “Trifari” stamps on the back to confirm authenticity.
- Estimated Value: $1,200 to $1,800
- Production Years: 1942 to 1945
- What to Check: Sterling stamp, clear Lucite belly
4. Joseph Wuyts Enamel Rhinestone Mermaid Pin
Joseph Wuyts was a designer whose patented jewelry designs for Trifari date to around 1940. Pieces credited to a named designer like Wuyts draw extra interest from collectors; this one drew 13 bids.
Check for painted enamel skin, a blue-green tail, and a fan of clear rhinestones.
- Estimated Value: $800 to $1,200
- Production Years: around 1940
- What to Check: Painted enamel face, rhinestone fan
5. Crown Trifari Diane Love Crescent Moon Choker
Diane Love designed for Trifari in the early 1970s, borrowing from ancient art and ethnic motifs. This choker uses eight linked crescent moons with a carved face on each one.
Most of her pieces were marked only “Trifari” on the metal. Her name lived on paper hang tags that almost always got lost. So collectors ID these by style, not signature.
- Estimated Value: $600 to $1,000
- Production Years: about 1971 to 1974
- What to Check: Faces on each crescent
6. Starflight Fireworks Flower Brooch
The Starflight collection came out in 1966 as one of Alfred Philippe’s late designs, two years before he retired in 1968. This example features sapphire blue rhinestones on the tips and pavé clear stones through the body, all shaped like a bursting firework.
- Estimated Value: $700 to $1,000
- Production Years: 1966
- What to Check: Sapphire tips
7. Early KTF Fruit Salad Brooch
Fruit salad pieces use carved glass shaped like miniature fruits and leaves in ruby, emerald, and sapphire tones. The KTF mark dates this one to before 1937, which makes it a genuine pre-war piece.
Philippe adapted the technique from Cartier’s “tutti frutti” style. The double-prong dress clip on the back confirms early production, which makes it more valuable than later pieces.
- Estimated Value: $500 to $800
- Production Years: about 1925 to the early 1930s
- What to Check: KTF mark, carved glass fruits
- Quick Notes: Dress clip fitting confirms pre-1937
8. Crown Trifari Alfred Philippe Moghul Jewels Brooch
Trifari’s Moghul and Jewels of India designs drew from Mughal-era Indian jewelry. Collectors date them from the late 1940s to the mid-1960s. Carved glass cabochons in ruby, sapphire, and emerald tones, all set in mixed gold and rhodium plating.
Animal figurals like this horse are much harder to find than the necklaces and earrings. Check for the crown mark, which places a piece in Trifari’s classic era.
- Estimated Value: $1,200 to $2,000
- Production Years: late 1940s to mid-1960s
- What to Check: Ruby melon-cut center stone
- Quick Notes: Look for the crown mark
9. Colored Jelly Belly Butterfly Brooch
Jelly Bellies are famous on their own, but colored versions like this red butterfly are much rarer than the standard clear ones. Wings are formed from two ruby cabochons with a rhinestone body between them.
- Estimated Value: $400 to $700
- Production Years: likely 1940s
- What to Check: Ruby cabochon wings, Trifari signature
10. Patriotic Bow Brooch
Wartime Trifari is a collectible category of its own. This bow brooch uses red and blue enamel with clear rhinestones, an asymmetric, loose bow shape that’s classic Retro-era work.
Enamel condition makes or breaks value here. Small chips are normal, but heavy loss can cut down serious value.
- Estimated Value: $350 to $600
- Production Years: circa 1940 to 1945
- What to Check: Enamel condition, red-white-blue
What Determines the Value of Vintage Trifari Jewelry?
Most vintage Trifari brooches and pieces are worth $40 to $150, and a nice signed piece with good design might hit $200 to $400. But the rarest designer pieces regularly cross $500 and can climb well past $1,500, like the $4,000 Poinsettia Star brooch above.
The six factors that decide where a Trifari piece lands on the value scale are:
- The mark: KTF and early Crown Trifari beat later marks every time.
- The designer: Alfred Philippe pieces command a premium, and named-designer pieces like Diane Love or Joseph Wuyts add another layer.
- The design category: Jelly Bellies, fruit salads, and figural animals sell for way more than plain rhinestone brooches.
- Materials: Sterling silver era pieces (roughly 1942 to 1945) are rare and desirable.
- Condition: Original stones, working clasps, and no plating loss all matter.
- Completeness: A full parure (matching necklace, brooch, and earrings) can sell for double what the pieces would bring individually.
If your piece is a brooch, you can learn to evaluate it in our guide to vintage brooch values.
Next time you’re at an estate sale or scrolling online sales, use this guide to know what you’re looking at. Check the mark first to date the piece, then look for a “Sterling” stamp, a designer’s style, and a collection name, since those are what push Trifari prices up.
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