"Trifari" Jelly Belly Crab

"Trifari"Jelly Belly Crab


Front	Back -- showing odd "Trifari" signature

Above is a picture of an obviously fake Trifari jelly belly crab . . . that is, it's obvious if you know what you're looking for, and if you know what the authentic JB crab looks like.

The real crab does not have a perfectly round, smooth Lucite "belly." The genuine Trifari crab has a Lucite belly that's, well, crab-shaped. (If you've ever had Maryland blue crabs for dinner, you'll know immediately what I mean.) Although some do exist, as a general rule, Trifari jelly belly pins do not have perfectly round, smooth bellies. Exceptions that I know of are: the large and small poodles, the rabbit munching flower branch, the small turtle, various sizes of flies. There may be more.

In addition, the real Trifari crab has front claws that are much smaller than those pictured above . . . they're not much larger than the legs, in fact.

But the real give-away on this piece? The Trifari signature. Take a look at the crown over the "T," above. (See the red arrow.) Rather than the well-known Trifari 3-pointed crown, this guy sports a diadem that looks a bit like the Shell Oil logo. A hopelessly clumsy imitation of the Trifari crown, but one that will fool a novice.

Need I even mention that the piece is undoubtedly NOT sterling, as stamped? :-)

Another giveaway (as if we needed more, but remember, it's best to consider all clues) is the roughness of the back. It's hard to tell from the picture above, as I had to trim it to fit the page, but the back is textured. Trifari did not texture the backs of its pieces until the 60s or so. Authentic Trifari jelly bellies from the 1940s (and the few that were made in the early 50s) have smooth backs.

As always, if you'd like to comment on this piece, or if you have found another interesting "fake" crab, please email me at dkos@radix.net.

Home to Rhinestone Rainbow