Since the 1920s, Trifari has been one of the most respected and admired producers of costume jewelry in the United States. Founded in the 1910s by Gustavo Trifari, the Italian-immigrant son of a Napoli goldsmith, the company has designed jewelry that’s been worn by countless high-profile clients, from Mamie Eisenhower to Madonna. Trifari partnered with sales managers Leo Krussman and Carl Fishel to form Trifari, Krussman and Fishel in 1925, the brand commonly known as “Trifari” today. Authentic Trifari jewelry is typically marked with "Jewels by Trifari," "TKF" (for Trifari, Krussman & Fishel), or "Trifari," depending on when it was made. Beginning in the 1930s, Trifari worked with Broadway and Hollywood producers to craft custom designs for famous actors, a clever move to boost its jewelry’s status. But the true success of Trifari jewelry, and the reason for its collectibility today, is most often credited to French designer Alfred Philippe, the company’s chief designer from 1930 until 1968. His use of almost invisible settings for stones, which he learned at Van Cleef & Arpels, added a level of craftsmanship and technique that had not been previously seen in costume jewelry. Such hand-set pieces often imitated the look of fine jewelry, using sterling silver or vermeil, a gold-plated finish, alongside other faux materials like paste gemstones and imitation moonstone, chalcedony, and pearls. The company even developed its own non-tarnishing, gold-tone alloy named Trifanium. Among Philippe’s countless contributions are the Trifari Crown brooches from the late 1930s to the 1950s. These crowns were so popular that Trifari incorporated a crown into its signature mark around 1937. Some of the Trifari Crown pins feature eye-catching, brightly colored cabochons, while others are composed entirely of clear crystal rhinestones for a monochromatic effect. Naturally, a series of Coronation Gems was produced in 1953 to celebrate the ascendancy of Elizabeth II to the British throne. Trifari’s Jelly Belly brooches depicting seals, poodles, roosters, and other miniature animals appeared in the 1940s, although the term itself originated during the administration of jelly-bean President Ronald Reagan. Each animal’s "belly" consists of a solid Lucite "pearl" with settings of sterling silver or gold plate. Although any Jelly Belly from this decade is going to command a good price, the poodles are especially rare. Other categories of vintage Trifari costume jewelry to look for are the floral brooches from the 1930s and the fruit and vegetable pieces from the 1950s. In particular, collectors like the miniature fruit pins (apples, pineapples, grape bunches, and strawberries, to name a few) from the late 1950s through the 1960s. These single pieces, usually finished in a matte silver or gold, were worn by themselves or in groups. Also popular are the patriotic pins from the 1940s of American flags and red-white-and-blue eagles. Like all manufacturers during World War II, Trifari was unable to use metal in its products due to rationing. This forced Trifari to switch to sterling silver during the war, which tripled prices for Trifari products (although that didn’t seem to hurt sales). Post-war, Trifari wanted to go back to less costly, maintenance-free metal, but its audience was now used to silver. To hype the return to a cheaper base metal, the company began advertising a "revolutionary" new metal called Trifanium, which was a made-up name for their basic metal—unlike silver, it could be given a no-polish rhodium finish. The campaign worked so well that by 1953, Mamie Eisenhower felt perfectly comfortable to break with tradition and wear costume jewelry to the inaugural ball. To match the First Lady’s pink satin gown (studded with 2,000 rhinestones), Alfred Philippe designed an "orientique" pearl choker necklace with matching three-stranded bracelet and earrings, each laden with eight pearls. Three sets were made: one for the First Lady, a second for the Smithsonian, and a third for the Trifari archives. Mrs. Eisenhower was so pleased with the ensemble that she had Trifari make jewelry for her second inaugural ball in 1957. Meanwhile, Trifari, Krussman & Fishel, Inc., was waging a courtroom battle against Charel, accusing the company of plagiarizing its copyrighted designs. Trifari made history in 1955 when the lawsuit was settled in its favor, with the judge finding that Charel had indeed infringed on Trifari’s copyrighted artwork, even though Trifari had not filed a formal patent for the design. Going forward, many costume-jewelry companies began imprinting their work with the copyright symbol, ©, to help protect their original creations. During the 1970s, Trifari removed the crown from its logo and switched to a slightly embellished typeface above a copyright symbol, which it used until moving to a mark with plain text signature and a small trademark symbol in the 1990s. In 1994, Trifari became part of the Monet Group, which was acquired by Liz Claiborne in 2000.