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Read About Trifari's Impressive Past
by Sher Matsen
Founded by Gustavo Trifari and his uncle in 1910, Trifari was first known as “Trifari and Trifari”. Gustavo’s uncle departed from the company a few years later and the company then became known as “Trifari”. In 1917 Leo Krussman joined Trifari, in 1925 Carl Fishel joined Trifari as the head of the sales department. The company was then renamed “Trifari, Krussman, and Fishel.”
Trifari is rich in history.
- From 1910 to 1975 Trifari was ran by the originating founders and sons of those founders
- In 1975 Trifari was purchased by Hallmark Jewelry Co.
- In 1988 Trifari was purchased by Crystal Brands
- In 1994 Trifari was purchased by Chase Capital Partners, a Lattice Holding Co., a division of the Monet Group
- In 2000 the Monet Group, was purchased by Liz Claiborne. Liz Claiborne then moved operations to Puerto Rico
- Trifari, is now an off shore operation
In the early part of 1930 Afred Philippe joined Trifari as head designer. He was a top notch designer who had worked with companies such as Cartier. Philippe was instrumental in turning Trifari into a profitable company in just a few years. His designs in the art deco period were extremely popular and because he was able to work with less expensive metals he was able to design the overly large flower pins and the fruit salad jewelry.
During this period Trifari designs were created to resemble the fine jewelry of the time. As time went on the designers became more flamboyant often creating outrageous designs. However, their main production always focused on resembling fine jewelry. During the 1940’s Philippe’s jewelry was “the best”. There was no designer who had more influence on the fashion industry. Afred Philippe's spent 4 decades with Trifari from the 1930s until his retirement in 1968. Starting as head designer and eventually becoming the president of Trifari, he lead the company as the leader in the costume and high fashion jewelry industry
There were several well known designs who designed for Trifari over the years.:
- 1930-1968 - Alfred Philippe
- 1930-1940 - Alfred Spaney
- 1930-1940 - David Mir
- 1940 - Norman Bel Geddes
- 1940 - Joseph Wuyts
- 1958 – 1965 Jean Paris
- 1967 – 1979 Andre Boeut
- 1971 – 1974 Diane Love
- 1970s - Jonathan Bailey
- 1980-1990 - Marcella Saltz - Most of her pieces were signed
Trifari produced several lines of jewelry
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