Description
Exceptional Trifari necklace with a large enamel bow at the front. The bow measures 2 1/2″ x 1 3/4″. The diameter is 5″. It is marked Trifari on the back of the bow with a small copyright symbol. I believe this necklace is from the seventies or eighties. Condition is excellent.
Trifari is one of world’s most recognizable names in collectible costume jewelery. Founded by Italian born Gustavo Trifari who moved to New York in 1904 and got started working in his uncle’s jewelery business before starting his own company. In 1930 Alfred Phillipe joined Trifari as the head designer. Prior to that he had been with Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels. Phillipe preferred using individually hand set imported Swarovski crystals. The company was known for both quality and design.
After the war Trifari developed their own type of base metal called “Trifanium” . During the fifties and sixties the company continued to grow and in 1964 the sons Louis Krussman and Carlton Fishel succeed their fathers in taking over the company. In 1968, the legendary designer Alfred Phillipe retired. Andre Boeuf (also previously from Cartier) became a lead designer. During the seventies notable designers Kenneth Jay Lane, Kunio Matsumoto, Marcells Saltz, and Jean Paris created designs for Trifari.
Trifari was sold to Hallmark in the seventies, then purchased by Chase Capital (Monet Group). By 2000 Trifari was sold to the Liz Clairborne Corporation and moved production overseas.
