TRIFARI 'Alfred Philippe' Sapphire and Ruby Marquise Sapphire Cabochon 'Sunburst' Pin and Clip Earrings

CELESTIAL!....

Trifari 'Alfred Philippe' 1950s marquise and cabochon crystals 'Sunburst'/starburst pin and clip earrings set. Gold-plated base metal.

The pin features open backed unfoiled sapphire blue marquise, dark sapphire blue cabochons and a ruby red marquise riveted center.

The crescent earrings emulate the theme with ruby red chatons.

The pin measures 3 1/2" in diameter. The earrings measure 1"L.

All pieces are signed TRIFARI with crown, C. The pin has stone setter's marks of '10' and '17'. The pin was advertised as 'Sunburst' in a November 1958 ad for A. Stowell Co. (info. courtesy of N&N's Trifari site).

Very good to excellent vintage condition.

Gustavo Trifari emigrated from Italy to the U.S. in 1904 and founded Trifari, NYC in 1910 after being a partner and jewelry designer with his uncle in Trifari & Trifari for several years. Gustavo's grandfather Luigi Trifari, a goldsmith, had a small workshop in Naples, Italy in the mid 1800s producing fine jewelry where Gustavo, working in his workshop, learned the jewelry trade.

In 1917, Leo Krussman joined the Trifari Company as a sales director and later became a partner, leading to the forming of the Trifari and Krussman Company. A third partner, Carl Fishel, an experienced and well known salesman also became a partner in the firm, in the early 1920s. The company again changed its name to Trifari, Krussman & Fishel.

(The principal designers at Cartier, Jacqueau in Paris and Genaille in New York, managed to crystallize in their jewels the seemingly light airiness of delicate platinum workmanship with the floral themes that represent the fusion of Persian and Indian decorative motifs that define Mogul design. The stones they used in the pieces of this period were cut and engraved in naturalistic leaf, flower and berry shapes, seemingly attached to a pavé diamond stem, with diamonds inset into some of the "berries" as well as collet-set as accents. Known popularly as "fruit salad" and "tutti frutti," these jewels reflect the pursuit of the exotic that so captivated the sophisticated European and American collectors of the 1920's and 1930's).