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.
Angela Cummings Sterling Silver Herringbone Mesh Belt #22543
By Angela Cummings
Located in Washington Depot, CT
Sterling silver herringbone mesh belt by Angela Cummings In 1984, Angela Cummings left Tiffany & Co to start her own brand, Angela Cummings, Inc. This belt is an early piece from he...
Sterling Silver
Antique Sterling Silver Mesh Bag With Deer Design
Located in Bernardsville, NJ
Weight: 236.4 grams Material: Sterling Silver Marked 925 Dimension: 6 inches x 7 inches Handle length: 12.5 inches
Sterling Silver
Navajo Turquoise and Sterling Silver Concho Belt
By Navajo
Located in Coeur d Alene, ID
Navajo sterling silver and turquoise concho belt. Seven oval conchos with single stone of Cerrillos turquoise in center. Conchos are stamped with traditional designs having scalloped...
Turquoise, Sterling Silver
Navajo Turquoise and Sterling Silver Belt Buckle
By Navajo
Located in Coeur d Alene, ID
Navajo sterling silver and Kingman turquoise nugget buckle. Multiple natural, untreated stones with Grade A quality turquoise. Each stone in sawtooth bezel setting, set in semi shado...
Turquoise, Sterling Silver
Navajo Sterling Silver Concho Belt
By Navajo
Located in Coeur d Alene, ID
Navajo sterling silver concho belt. Nine oval conchos with matching belt buckle. Each concho hand stamped with traditional designs and smooth borders. With double sterling loops atta...
Sterling Silver
Navajo Turquoise and Sterling Silver Concho Belt
By Navajo
Located in Coeur d Alene, ID
Navajo Bisbee turquoise and sterlingconcho belt. 18 stunning turquoise chunk conchos surrounded by twisted rope and stamped sterling bead border with mirrored design on larger belt b...
Turquoise, Sterling Silver
Navajo Sterling Silver Concho Belt
By Navajo
Located in Coeur d Alene, ID
Navajo sterling silver concho belt. Nineteen total conchos, alternating between oval and butterfly shapes. Stamped with traditional fan designs and diamond center, complementary rectangular buckle. Attached to black leather belt with single copper loop. Marked "A.M Sterling (Alfred Martinez)." Thin enough to wear under belt loops, or great for wearing over dresses and skirts. Great patina that could be polished out if desired. Size: Large conchos...
Sterling Silver
Navajo R. Tom Sterling Silver Concho Belt
By Navajo
Located in Coeur d Alene, ID
Navajo sterling silver concho belt by R. Tom. Seventeen total conchos with alternating oval and butterfly shapes. Hand-stamped traditional designs with diamond center, attached to bl...
Sterling Silver
Navajo Turquoise and Sterling Silver Concho Belt
By Navajo
Located in Coeur d Alene, ID
Navajo sterling silver and turquoise concho belt. Large oval conchos with hand stamped details and Fox-White Horse turquoise stones. Each concho having large oval cut center stone in smooth bezel setting with twisted rope border, surrounded by 16 smaller stones accented by sterling beads. Conchos have fan design with stamped details. Signed MC. Marked sterling; seven conchos total. Large conchos...
Turquoise, Sterling Silver
Navajo Turquoise and Sterling Silver Concho Belt
By Navajo
Located in Coeur d Alene, ID
Navajo sterling silver concho belt with single nuggets of turquoise on each concho. The turquoise is from the Blue Diamond Mine in Nevada, having stunning bright blue color with dark...
Turquoise, Sterling Silver
Navajo Turquoise and Sterling Silver Concho Belt
By Navajo
Located in Coeur d Alene, ID
Navajo turquoise and sterling silver concho belt. Eleven total conchos having oval and butterfly shapes with rectangle buckle. Oval conchos have single stone of Royston turquoise, wi...
Turquoise, Sterling Silver
Navajo Sterling Silver and Turquoise Concho Belt
By Navajo
Located in Coeur d Alene, ID
Navajo turquoise and sterling silver concho belt, signed MC. Each concho having approximately 35 small Sleeping Beauty turquoise stones in sawtooth bezel setting with sterling bead d...
Turquoise, Sterling Silver
Navajo Turquoise and Sterling Silver Concho Belt
By Navajo
Located in Coeur d Alene, ID
Navajo turquoise and sterling silver concho belt. Sixteen total conchos plus belt. Alternating butterfly and round conchos with bright blue Morenci turquoise stones cut to fit nicely...
Turquoise, Sterling Silver