Jewellery, Watches and Objects of Vertu

A silver herringbone weave choker necklace and ear clips by Angela Cummings, the broad torque sprung necklace of flexible form, together with a pair of square ear clips en suite, the reverse of both stamped ‘©1984 ©1985 CUMMINGS STERLING’, with polished backs and hinged fittings, necklace length approximately 38cm, ear clips 18mm square. £300-£500

Born in Austria in 1944, Angela Cummings, grew up in America, close to Washington DC, travelling to Perugia, Italy to study painting at the Academia di Belle Arts, plus a degree as a gemologist, goldsmith and designer in Germany, at the Staatliche Zeichenakademie in Hanau. After her studies, she returned to the United States, and in 1968 took the position as in-house designer at Tiffany & Co. In 1975, whilst still working at Tiffany’s, she launched her own brand Angela Cummings Exclusively for Tiffany & Co. Along with her contemporaries Donald Claflin, Paoloma Picasso and Elsa Peretti, she was given the honour of signing her own work.

In 1984, after her 18 year partnership with Tiffany, Cummings left the company, and established her own business with her husband Bruce Cummings. Her first boutique opened in the New York department store, Bergdorf Goodman on 5th Avenue, quickly leading to further success and expansion. In 1990, Angela Cummings Inc formed an alliance with Shiseido The Giza, opening stores and boutiques throughout Japan. In 2003, Angela retired, moving to Utah with her family and closing all her boutiques although in 2013 she was tempted back into designing a limited edition collection for the pearl specialist Assael. Angela’s distinctive designs combines bold, modern and colourful styles, often using unusual materials, such as black jade, wood, black opals, as well as mother-of-pearl, coral and lapis lazuli.