Angela Cummings for Tiffany Co. Jewelry
With her playfully bold, nature-inspired pieces, Angela Cummings has left a lasting mark on the world of jewelry design. Full of movement and sensational color, her eye-catching collar necklaces, stud earrings and bracelets continue to be favored by red-carpet celebrities and tastemakers the world over.
Cummings was born in Austria in 1944, during a time when her country was being torn apart by war. At the age of three her family moved to America, where she was raised. Returning to her native country as an adult, Cummings studied art in Perugia, Italy, then went on to study jewelry design in Hanau, West Germany. She graduated with a degree in gemology, goldsmithing and jewelry design from Zeichenakademie in 1967.
Cummings returned to the United States after finishing her studies. She marched into legendary American luxury house Tiffany Co. in New York City and asked for a job. Under the mentorship of Donald Claflin, a designer who’d previously worked for David Webb, Cummings became a respected in-house designer for the brand. Her named collection, Angela Cummings Exclusively for Tiffany Co., debuted in 1974.
Cummings created sumptuous 18K gold accessories that were inlaid with coral, opal, mother-of-pearl, jade and lapis lazuli. Not unlike the work of Elsa Peretti, who signed an exclusive contract with Tiffany Co. in 1974, Cummings’ designs — seashell necklaces, maple leaf pendants — drew on the shapes and forms of the natural world.
As her style continued to develop, Cummings integrated silver, precious gemstones and platinum into her work, creating exquisite juxtapositions by mixing the materials with wood and iron. Her pieces increasingly featured more movement-inspired elements — curling vines, crashing waves and billowing cloud forms — that hearkened to the rhythms of nature.
In 1982, People magazine featured Cummings' jewelry and the publicity launched her into the spotlight. Two years later, she established her own business, Angela Cummings Inc., and began to experiment with abstraction in her work, as well as allowing her surroundings in Japan, where she opened several boutiques, to inspire her adornments.
Cummings retired in 2003, making a brief comeback in 2013 to collaborate with Assael Jewelry, for which she created an exclusive line of cultured pearl jewelry.
Find vintage Angela Cummings earrings, necklaces, brooches and other accessories on 1stDibs.
Late 20th Century American Artist Angela Cummings for Tiffany Co. Jewelry
Lapis Lazuli, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
20th Century American Artist Angela Cummings for Tiffany Co. Jewelry
Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1980s Vintage Angela Cummings for Tiffany Co. Jewelry
Lapis Lazuli, Yellow Gold
1970s Unknown Contemporary Vintage Angela Cummings for Tiffany Co. Jewelry
Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1970s American Vintage Angela Cummings for Tiffany Co. Jewelry
24k Gold, Base Metal, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Contemporary Angela Cummings for Tiffany Co. Jewelry
Jade, Black Jade, 18k Gold
1980s American Vintage Angela Cummings for Tiffany Co. Jewelry
Black Jade, Yellow Gold
1980s American Modernist Vintage Angela Cummings for Tiffany Co. Jewelry
Jade, Lapis Lazuli, Black Jade, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1970s Hong Kong Vintage Angela Cummings for Tiffany Co. Jewelry
Pearl, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1970s North American Modernist Vintage Angela Cummings for Tiffany Co. Jewelry
Agate, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1950s American Retro Vintage Angela Cummings for Tiffany Co. Jewelry
Diamond, Turquoise, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1980s Vintage Angela Cummings for Tiffany Co. Jewelry
Diamond, Pearl, Gold, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Angela Cummings for Tiffany Co. Jewelry
Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1990s American Angela Cummings for Tiffany Co. Jewelry
Jade, Pearl, Black Jade, Gold
20th Century Angela Cummings for Tiffany Co. Jewelry
18k Gold, Yellow Gold, Enamel
1980s Central American Vintage Angela Cummings for Tiffany Co. Jewelry
Yellow Gold
20th Century Angela Cummings for Tiffany Co. Jewelry
Tourmaline, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1970s American Modernist Vintage Angela Cummings for Tiffany Co. Jewelry
Carnelian, Gold, Yellow Gold, 18k Gold
20th Century American Angela Cummings for Tiffany Co. Jewelry
Pearl, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1980s Modern Vintage Angela Cummings for Tiffany Co. Jewelry
Pearl, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1970s American Modernist Vintage Angela Cummings for Tiffany Co. Jewelry
Hematite, Gold, Yellow Gold, 18k Gold
1980s North American Vintage Angela Cummings for Tiffany Co. Jewelry
Carnelian, Pearl, Gold
1980s Vintage Angela Cummings for Tiffany Co. Jewelry
Opal, Black Jade, 18k Gold
1970s American Vintage Angela Cummings for Tiffany Co. Jewelry
Pearl, Yellow Gold
1980s Vintage Angela Cummings for Tiffany Co. Jewelry
Lapis Lazuli, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
