ANGELA CUMMINGS (b.1944)

Angela Cummings, an American jewelry designer, was born in Klagenfurt, Austria, in 1944. Cummings relocated with her family to the United States when she was just three years old but returned to Europe as a teenager to study at the Art Academy in Perugia, Italy. She went on to earn degrees in goldsmithing and gemology from Zeichenakademie in Hanau, West Germany, in 1967. Upon the completion of her studies, Cummings moved to New York and started immediately working for Tiffany & Company at the age of twenty-three. Although she was hoping to work for Jean Schlumberger, instead, she worked under the guidance of Donald Claflin and was able to launch her first full collection under her own name at Tiffany & Co. in 1975.

 Cummings left Tiffany & Co. in 1984, on the cusp of her fortieth birthday, to launch her own namesake brand. She was joined by her husband, Bruce Cummings, a former Tiffany & Co. gemologist whom she married in 1970. Cummings's first collection as an independent designer retailed at Bergdorf Goodman and included a great deal of silver—in a New York Times article in 1983, Cummings said that Tiffany & Co. only allowed Peretti to use silver in her collections for the brand—as well her trademark gold. The designer built a reputation for exquisitely crafted 18 karat gold, platinum, and sterling silver jewelry, adding colored gemstones like mother of pearl and opals. Harking back to her artistic education, she was not afraid to add nontraditional materials like wood or introduce color in her work. Her training in Hanau also allowed her to experiment with classical jewelry-making techniques, such as inlaying precious metals into iron, a process known as damascene. One of her most beloved series was inspired by the Pietra Dura floors that she saw in Venice, turning these motifs into inlaid mosaic bangles, necklaces, and earrings. Like many great artists, nature is her muse—Cummings incorporates forms such as ginkgo leaves, spiderwebs, vines, shells, feathers, sea foam, dragonflies, and orchids into her jewelry. In 2003, Cummings, still at the height of her success, decided to close her business. 

Visit our exhibition page for “Women of Vision” to learn more about the inspired, avant-garde, and original jewelry by women designers in our collection.