Angela Cummings Lever-Back Earrings
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.
1980s American Modern Vintage Angela Cummings Lever-Back Earrings
18k Gold
20th Century American Modern Angela Cummings Lever-Back Earrings
Yellow Gold, 18k Gold
1980s Vintage Angela Cummings Lever-Back Earrings
18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Late 20th Century Contemporary Angela Cummings Lever-Back Earrings
18k Gold
20th Century Angela Cummings Lever-Back Earrings
18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1980s American Vintage Angela Cummings Lever-Back Earrings
Black Jade, Yellow Gold
1980s American Modern Vintage Angela Cummings Lever-Back Earrings
18k Gold
Late 20th Century North American Contemporary Angela Cummings Lever-Back Earrings
18k Gold
Late 20th Century American Contemporary Angela Cummings Lever-Back Earrings
Coral, Black Jade, 18k Gold
1980s Hong Kong Modern Vintage Angela Cummings Lever-Back Earrings
Jade, Black Jade, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1990s American Angela Cummings Lever-Back Earrings
Cultured Pearl, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Angela Cummings Lever-Back Earrings
Diamond, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1980s Vintage Angela Cummings Lever-Back Earrings
Yellow Gold
Early 2000s American Angela Cummings Lever-Back Earrings
Pearl, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1980s American Modern Vintage Angela Cummings Lever-Back Earrings
Diamond, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Late 20th Century American Contemporary Angela Cummings Lever-Back Earrings
Turquoise, Gold, 18k Gold
1980s Unknown Modern Vintage Angela Cummings Lever-Back Earrings
Coral, Lapis Lazuli, Black Jade, Gold, 18k Gold
Late 20th Century Angela Cummings Lever-Back Earrings
18k Gold, Yellow Gold, Enamel
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Angela Cummings Lever-Back Earrings
Jade, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Late 20th Century Angela Cummings Lever-Back Earrings
Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1970s Vintage Angela Cummings Lever-Back Earrings
Gold, Yellow Gold
20th Century American Contemporary Angela Cummings Lever-Back Earrings
Diamond, Onyx, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Late 20th Century American Contemporary Angela Cummings Lever-Back Earrings
Tourmaline, Rubelite, 18k Gold
1990s Unknown Modern Angela Cummings Lever-Back Earrings
Diamond, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1990s Unknown Modern Angela Cummings Lever-Back Earrings
Diamond, Yellow Gold, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Angela Cummings Lever-Back Earrings
Hematite, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1980s Vintage Angela Cummings Lever-Back Earrings
Opal, Gold, 18k Gold
1980s American Modern Vintage Angela Cummings Lever-Back Earrings
Diamond, Gold, 18k Gold
1980s Contemporary Vintage Angela Cummings Lever-Back Earrings
Sterling Silver
Late 20th Century American Modern Angela Cummings Lever-Back Earrings
Pearl, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Contemporary Angela Cummings Lever-Back Earrings
Onyx, 18k Gold
1970s Unknown Modern Vintage Angela Cummings Lever-Back Earrings
Diamond, Platinum