Angela Cummings: Tiffany's Inlaid Hardstone Designer

Angela Cummings designed for Tiffany & Co. from the late 1960s and, in 1974, became the first woman to have a collection sold under her own name at the house. Her jewellery is quiet and painterly: leaves, petals and natural forms rendered in inlaid coloured hardstone and finely worked gold, with a strong Japanese influence. Less famous today than Peretti or Picasso, she is admired by collectors for craftsmanship and originality. This guide covers her career, her years at Tiffany, her signature work, how to identify genuine pieces, and what they are worth on the UK market.

Who is Angela Cummings?

Angela Cummings (born 1944) is an American jewellery designer who trained in Germany, studying at the goldsmithing and gemmology school in Hanau, a centre of the German jewellery trade. That rigorous training gave her an exceptional command of materials and technique, which underpins all her work.

Her design language is drawn almost entirely from nature — leaves, petals, feathers, dew, the patterns of wood and stone — and is filtered through a strong appreciation of Japanese art and craft. She is particularly known for her mastery of inlay: setting thin, precisely cut pieces of coloured hardstone (such as opal, lapis, coral, mother-of-pearl and various agates) flush into gold, creating subtle, painterly surfaces. She also developed distinctive woven and textured goldwork that mimics fabric and natural form.

Where some designers pursue drama, Cummings pursues refinement. Her pieces reward close looking, and their quality of making is consistently high.

Angela Cummings's years at Tiffany & Co.

Cummings joined Tiffany in the late 1960s and designed there through to 1984. In 1974 — the same year Elsa Peretti arrived — she achieved a notable distinction: she became the first woman to have a collection sold under her own name at Tiffany, a significant moment for a house that had rarely credited individual designers before.

At Tiffany she refined her inlaid-hardstone technique and her nature-derived forms into a recognisable body of work: necklaces, earrings, brooches and bangles in which goldwork and stone inlay are combined with great subtlety. Her pieces sat alongside Peretti's in the same period, offering a quieter, more intricate alternative to Peretti's bold organic forms.

She left Tiffany in 1984 to establish her own independent label, which she ran successfully for many years. Her Tiffany-period pieces, signed and dated to those years, are the focus of most collector interest.

Iconic work: inlaid hardstone and woven gold

Cummings's Tiffany work centres on a few distinctive techniques and themes:

• Inlaid hardstone nature pieces: Her signature. Leaves, petals and natural forms created by inlaying precisely cut coloured hardstones — opal, lapis lazuli, coral, mother-of-pearl, agates — flush into gold, producing subtle, painterly surfaces.
• Woven and textured gold: Necklaces and bracelets in finely worked gold that imitates draped fabric, woven cloth or natural texture, showing her goldsmithing skill.
• Japanese-influenced motifs: Designs drawing on Japanese art and craft — restrained compositions, natural subjects and an emphasis on surface and material over overt gem-setting.
• Diamond and gemstone accents: Where she used precious stones, they tend to be integrated quietly into the natural forms rather than dominating them.

How to identify a genuine Angela Cummings for Tiffany piece

Authentication rests on signatures, technique and quality. Key checks include:

1. The signature. Genuine Tiffany-period pieces carry both the Tiffany & Co. mark and the Angela Cummings name (or "A. Cummings"). After 1984, pieces from her independent label carry her own marks rather than Tiffany's — an important distinction for dating and value.
2. Quality of inlay. Her hardstone inlay is precise and flush, with clean joins between stone and gold. Crude, raised or uneven inlay indicates a lesser piece or a copy.
3. Goldwork. Her woven and textured gold is finely made. The standard of the metalwork should be high, consistent with Tiffany.
4. Materials. Genuine pieces use good-quality coloured hardstones and the appropriate gold standard. Metal marks should be present.
5. Box and papers. Original Tiffany packaging and documentation support authenticity and add to value.

Current market value and resale

Angela Cummings is less widely known than Tiffany's headline designers, which can make her work relatively good value — and of particular interest to knowledgeable collectors. Values depend on the materials, technique, size and condition, but as a general guide:

• Smaller inlaid hardstone earrings and pendants: accessible entry points for collectors
• Inlaid necklaces and woven gold pieces: command higher prices, reflecting the labour and skill involved
• Signed Tiffany-period pieces (to 1984): the focus of collector demand, valued for the Tiffany association and her craftsmanship
• Pieces with notable stones or scale: the strongest performers

For the broader question of how designer jewellery performs as an asset, see does designer jewellery hold its value? Authenticated, signed Tiffany-period pieces with original packaging achieve the strongest prices.

How to sell an Angela Cummings piece in the UK

If you own an Angela Cummings piece and are considering selling, you have two main routes: auction or a specialist dealer. Auction can suit important inlaid or signed Tiffany-period pieces, but involves commission, delay and uncertainty. A specialist dealer offers an immediate, firm price.

At Mozeris Fine Antiques we buy Angela Cummings, and other Tiffany designer pieces, outright. We authenticate, value against the live secondary market, and pay promptly — with no commission deducted. For more on choosing between routes, read selling designer jewellery: dealer vs auction. To begin, visit our sell your Tiffany jewellery page or our designer jewellery hub.

For Tiffany's other defining designers, see our guides to Elsa Peretti and Jean Schlumberger, and for the house's wider history our piece on the Tiffany Setting. You may also be interested in vintage jewellery.

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