Turn over almost any piece of vintage costume jewelry and you will find a clue. A tiny crown, a copyright symbol, a maker's name stamped into the clasp. These small marks are often the best way to tell when a piece was made, and they are the first thing I look at when a new find comes in.
Here is how a few of the marks you will see in our shop help date a piece.
The Trifari crown
Trifari was one of the great American costume jewelry houses, and its mark changed over the years. The crown above the letter T came into use in the late 1930s. Then in 1955, Trifari won a court case against a company that had copied one of its designs, Trifari v. Charel, which helped establish that costume jewelry designs could be protected by copyright. After that, the © symbol started appearing next to the Trifari name. So a crown with no © usually points to an earlier piece, and a crown with a © points to the mid-1950s or later.
Our Crown Trifari leaf cluster brooch and the Crown Trifari Taurus intaglio pendant both carry the crown mark.
The © symbol in general
Trifari was not alone. Once the courts made it clear that jewelry designs could be copyrighted, many other makers began adding the © to their marks as well. It is not a perfect rule, but when you see a © on an American costume piece, it is a good sign that it was made in the mid-1950s or after.
Aurora borealis stones
Sometimes the stones tell you as much as the stamp. The rainbow shimmer known as aurora borealis, or AB, was developed by Swarovski together with Christian Dior and introduced in the mid-1950s. If a piece has that iridescent finish, it was made no earlier than that. You can see it on our Sarah Coventry AB rhinestone starburst brooch.
Sarah Coventry
Sarah Coventry jewelry was never sold in stores. Starting in 1949, it was sold at home parties, where a hostess invited friends over and a representative brought the line to try on. The company operated until 1984, so any piece marked Sarah Coventry or Sarah Cov. was made somewhere in that 35-year window. The style of the piece, and whether it has AB stones, can help narrow it down from there. Our Sarah Coventry daisy brooch is a classic example.
Ledo
Ledo was founded by Leo Polcini, and the name was used from the late 1940s until around 1960, when the company changed its name to Polcini. That short run makes a Ledo mark a fairly precise clue. Our Ledo gold-tone rose brooch comes from those years.
Elsa Peretti for Tiffany
Marks matter for designer pieces too. Elsa Peretti began designing for Tiffany & Co. in 1974, so anything marked with her name and Tiffany's was made in 1974 or later. Her Bean, Open Heart and other designs have stayed in production for decades, which is why the marks alone can't tell you the exact year. See our Elsa Peretti Bean pendant and Open Heart necklace.
A mark is a starting point
A mark gives you a window of years, not an exact date. When I research a piece, I look at the mark together with the stones, the metal, the clasp and the style, and I only list an era when the evidence supports it. If you ever have a question about where one of our pieces came from, just ask. I am always happy to share what I found.