THE STORY OF ANGEL HEART 

“I was sitting in my store on Prince street, working in the back as I usually did during those days. It was the late 80’s, and all kinds of people would wander in off the street curious to see what was inside. When these three Englishmen came in, however, I could tell they had come here with a purpose. “Mr. Streeter”, they said… “We have been up and down Manhattan looking for a jeweler for a very special project. We find your work to be the strangest in New York City...Would you be interested in designing jewelry for a film?”

That film would turn out to be Angel Heart - the 1987 neo-noir thriller directed by Alan Parker. Starring Robert DeNiro as “Louis Cyphre” and Mickey Rourke as “Harry Angel”, the film follows Mr. Angel’s descent into the underworld of Harlem and New Orleans. I was hired to make several pieces for this film, including a ring for Mr. DeNiro and necklace for Charlotte Rampling. Each of these pieces prominently featured a pentagram, a foreshadowing of the connection between these characters in the film.

Angel Heart would go on to become an instant cult classic, and due to popular demand I began making DeNiro’s ring for a wider audience in the 1990’s. Indeed, the Angel Heart Ring became such a phenomenon that I started making yearly pilgrimages to Japan to meet my fans and sign their Alex Streeter jewelry. It was quite the cultural exchange as I was inspired by Japanese coral to create the shade of red now known as the Ewaka Red.

In a way, the Angel Heart Ring represents the completion of a full circle and a return to my earliest works. I started making pentagram jewelry in the 1970’s, my earliest designs inspired by my library of occult books.  The five-pointed star seems to follow me wherever I go, from the stone doorways of Morocco to the shinto magician’s shrine in Japan. It is thus fitting that the Angel Heart remains my most famous work, spawning countless imitations around the world - I actually keep a personal collection of counterfeit Angel Hearts that I’ve encountered on my travels. Over the years we have added so many variations and colors to the world of Angel Heart, however my favorites will always be the originals - Amber, Black and Red. "

- Alex Streeter