Shining Bright
Record-breaking jewellery artist Anna Hu on her path to success, her musically minded design process and collaborating with the Queen of Diamonds
Anna Hu’s jewellery journey might, at first glance, seem like a straightforward one. “Born and raised in a gemstone family,” as she puts it, the Asian-american jewellery artist has jewellery in her blood. But on close inspection, a story unfolds that takes many unexpected turns—from aspirations as a solo cellist to life-altering advice from her mentors to record-breaking achievements.
“I used to help my father sort all different types of gemstones by colour, shape, size and cut; it was like playing with Lego bricks,” recalls Hu. “That was my very first foray into this world.”
This introduction into the world sparked Hu’s interest; she later went on to study at New York’s Gemological Institute of America, Parsons School of Design and Columbia University, and gained experience with Christie’s, Van Cleef & Arpels and Harry Winston. It was at the latter institution that she met her mentor, Maurice Galli, whom she credits for encouraging her to take the next step and establish her eponymous brand.
“He once said to me, ‘Don’t be a caged bird,’ and suggested I create a new concept.” This concept, she explains, blends European craftsmanship with an Asian aesthetic. In 2007, Anna Hu Haute Joallerie was born, and opened its first retail space a year later at The Plaza hotel in New York.
The brand produces just 30 pieces a year, each one a labour of love that can take up to a year to complete. Extravagant, vividly coloured creations, they are imbued with a sense of movement. Integrating French and Chinese cultures and artistic inspirations, Hu explains, helps to foster “romantic, fluid, organic and authentic designs”.
She sees the symbolism of much of the jewellery being produced today as superficial, something she makes a point of challenging in her designs. The Monet Water Lily Necklace is one such piece, inspired by a summer spent in Paris as a teenager. “I wanted to mimic the waves in the lake and create something very feminine and unique,” she says. The resulting piece features more than 2,000 coloured gemstones, from blue sapphires and violet tanzanites to coloured diamonds and Paraiba tourmalines. These, Hu says, “are the paint I use to recreate Monet’s art”.
She credits an art history of China class she took at Columbia University with inspiring Celestial Lotus, an art nouveau-inspired titanium necklace embellished with Colombian emeralds, fancy yellow, grey and white diamonds, garnets, tsavorites and multicoloured pink sapphires. Elsewhere in her designs, she says, “you will find eastern motifs such as Taoist symbols, yinyang and imagery of tigers, koi and dragons”.
After she’d carved out her niche, the world began to take notice. Just two years after she launched
“I used to help my father sort gemstones by colour, shape, size and cut; it was like playing with Lego bricks. That was my very first foray into this world”
her brand, celebrities such as Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow began wearing her jewellery on the red carpet. And in 2013, at a Christie’s auction in Geneva, the Cote d’azur Sapphire Brooch surpassed expectations, hammering for US$4.58 million, breaking the world record for price paid for a piece of contemporary jewellery. In 2019, Hu regained the title, this time for the Dunhuang Pipa necklace, auctioned at Sotheby’s Hong Kong for US$5.78 million.
Hu says that as well as her record-breaking achievements, “I feel so honoured and grateful that I have had the blessing to represent Chinese culture through my jewellery creations and share it with the world.”
Despite her family legacy and interest in gemstones and jewellery from a young age, it wasn’t always Hu’s calling. As a child, she was a passionate cellist, with dreams of a career as a soloist. A classically trained musician, she was awarded the National Champion of Cello title at just 13, and later received a scholarship to study at the New England Conservatory of Music.
Hu says both art forms require extreme dedication and passion, and highlights the synergies between them. “I use my gemstones as musical notes to create a beautiful jewellery symphony. Melody is akin to a jewel’s curve and line; rhythm—structure and style—can be depicted using angular or bulky forms; and harmony can dictate colour.
While Hu is proud of many of her achievements over the years, her enthusiasm for a forthcoming collaboration with British jewellery house Moussaieff suggests it’s a career crescendo.
“I met Alisa Moussaieff—the Queen of Diamonds—at La Biennale Paris in 2017, when she came into my booth,” she says. “She has always been an important role model to me, with her freedom, liveliness and boundless creativity, contrasted with her diligence, bravery and courage to forge ahead. The legend of Moussaieff is hard to replicate.”
In 2020, Moussaieff appointed David Warren as its CEO. A Christie’s alum and friend of Hu’s, Warren facilitated the conversations that would lead to the collaboration. The brands have worked together on a labour of love, “combining magnificent gems, sophisticated craftsmanship and unique design”, says Hu.
Central to the collaboration is the Enchanted Lily Flower Brooch. Representing purity and fertility, says Hu, “the sweet and innocent beauty of the lily has earned it an association with fresh life and rebirth.”
Whether it’s through a symphony of gemstones or a painstaking reverence for cultures past and present, in Hu’s jewellery—like the woman herself—there’s more than meets the eye.
“I use my gemstones as musical notes to create a beautiful jewellery symphony”