In Collecting Costume Jewelry 202 I devote many pages discussing design patents and the importance of design patents to collectors.  These patents help to date jewelry and provide a valuable source of information about styles and trends in a particular year.  For example, the patents shown on pages 51 – 55  of Collecting Costume Jewelry 202 show many Coro jelly belly designs suggesting this jewelry was popular (a good seller) for Coro from 1942 – 1945. 

Sometimes the value of jewelry with a known design patent number is enhanced because the history of the piece is available to the seller, to help promote a sale, and enticing to a buyer, who is interested in collecting jewelry with a known background.  However, I must add a word of caution here.  Coro and Trifari patented many, many designs before 1955.  Some of these designs are for wonderful, well-made pieces and some are not.  A collector must evaluate each piece for condition, aesthetic appeal, investment potential, and quality before making a purchase.  The presence of a design patent for the piece is not enough to qualify the jewelry as being a high-end, valuable piece.

Note:  The following link takes you to the U.S. Patent Office web site. US Patent Full-Text Database Number Search   (It is a good idea to bookmark this page.)  If you know the design patent number type in “D” (for Design) in the "Query" box followed by the six digit patent number.  Click “Search.”  Then click “Image” to view the patent drawing.  Remember a design patent number has six digits.  A utility patent number (a patent for a mechanism like a clasp or other hardware element) is seven digits long.  If you are viewing a utility patent number, type the seven digit number without the “D”. 

I love finding jewelry signed “Des. Pat. Pend.” and then spending a few minutes at the computer searching for the patent information.  I hope you will too. The following are examples of collectible jewelry I’ve recently acquired and the corresponding design patents. 

The above vintage clip is signed “Trifari”, “Des. Pat. Pend.”  Notice the distinctive basket weave pattern.  Page 158 in Collecting Costume Jewelry 202 shows a bow clip, design patent number 129853, with the same basket weave pattern.  The information in the chart on the same page leads to several other pieces with this same basket weave design trait (129852, 129851, 130133, and 130134).   After viewing these four patents online, I concluded that the Trifari clip most closely matched design patent number 130134 issued to Alfred Philippe for Trifari on October 28, 1941. 

I recently purchased this beautiful Boucher necklace and earrings set.  After a bit of research, I was delighted to discover that these earrings match design patent number 171059 issued December 8, 1953 to Raymonde Semensohn for Boucher. 

Notice that this design is abstract, rather than an easily recognized form like a butterfly design, or an over-the-ear earring design.  I  consulted the design patent charts on page 260 – 268 of the Collecting Costume Jewelry 202 looking for abstract earring patents.  I found three Boucher abstract earring designs listed.  Happily, the third one I checked online matched my earrings.

This beautiful butterfly brooch design must have been hugely popular for Trifari.  It was produced in at least three different sizes  with matching butterfly earrings.  Although the original design patent dates to 1944, this design was likely produced many times over the years. 

Although not rare and not extremely valuable, this sweet Coro pin is both patented and featured in a well-known Coro advertisement.  (See page 69 of Collecting Costume Jewelry 202 to view this wonderful vintage advertisement.)  Originally selling for $2.00 this remains a classic Coro design.