It’s been a busy year for jewellery artist Anna Hu. She’s hopscotched around the globe to showcase her artistic assemblage of creations at newsworthy events. She joined The European Fine Art Foundation (TEFAF) in Maastricht for the second time in a row, where she was the only speaker representing high-jewellery exhibitors, alongside a panel of experts in the field of luxury. She generously donated a pair of Celestial Lotus earrings at the China Gala Auction, raising money for a worthy cause. And last but certainly not least, Hu presented her latest series of stunners in Paris, where she debuted the official launch of Papillon du Blanc as one of the Maison’s classic collection.
First presented in Paris back in 2018, the Papillon du Blanc ring was originally a one-time bespoke creation, comprised of three individual rings to be worn in seven different ways, studded with a marquise brilliant-cut diamond. A second ring was created as part of a Moussaieff by Anna Hu collaboration in 2021. The dazzling piece was so well liked and acclaimed, Anna Hu and her Maison expanded on this design concept to make a full-fledged collection, incorporating a variety of colours and rare stones.
As every important brand showcased their high-jewellery collection this past July at Haute Couture Week, Hu set sail her own flagship in a sea of diamonds at the Hôtel d’Évreux in the famed Place Vendôme, presenting a staggering array of coveted stones of inordinate size and quality in the most wonderous shapes. What caught our eye was a yellow and white diamond studded set, morphed into exquisite butterfly form for a nature-inspired collection. Hu’s creativity was roused by snow-covered New York City in winter, and the erstwhile cellist had Vivaldi’s Concerto No. 4 in F minor, L’inverno (“Winter”), the fourth movement from The Four Seasons, in mind.
Representing the dichotomy of lightness and strength, the delicate butterfly is constructed of impenetrable diamonds in marquise and oval brilliant-cuts, with ribbons of fancy and round-shaped yellow diamonds fused into 18-carat white and yellow gold. From every angle, it shimmers and shines in everlasting light. Each Papillon du Blanc ring is composed of three individual rings, which can be disconnected and worn separately in seven different ways.
As ravishing as it looks on the ring finger, placed on a mantle or in a display case, or as a stand-alone piece, Hu’s jewellery is a work of sculptural art. It’s living proof that Hu, as an artist, is the sum of all of her parts, heritage, and history. Unlike other jewellery designers of note, her work is gaged with a different lens; there’s that influence of music, the confluence of art, the technical alchemy of handcrafted artisanship, and a cross-cultural hybridity in her work. Everything everywhere, all at once, Hu’s command of the arts is inspiring as she brings a rich history to her contemporary designs. An award-winning cellist as a prodigal child who is literate in Chinese art history, studied with European fashion houses, and worked with Van Cleef & Arpels and Harry Winston—it all blends together as Anna Hu self-edits and hones every novel creation into faultless being. Hu works exclusively with French-trained artisans, who are masters of traditional craftsmanship. Her ateliers in Paris are among the finest in the world.
Residing in Monaco, the cellist turned-jeweller approaches her work as musicians would to printed sheet music—a careful study of highs and lows, a balance of curves of treble and succession of quavers. There’s a precise and perfect harmony to the works of this famed Asian jeweller-to the-stars. (The string of celebrities who have been photographed wearing her signature pieces is too lengthy to list.) Hu’s by-appointment only showrooms have a semblance to the great galleries of the world, and that is no accident—her museum worthy pieces, often unique and filled with historical resonance and a great volume of stones (in quantity and quality), have dazzled observers for the past 16 years.
The only Monaco-based Asian jewellery artist working with Parisian ateliers and craftsmen since the brand’s inception, Hu is the first Asian jewellery artist admitted into the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode (FHCM) and with her work in the permanent collections of Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, Hu’s legacy, like her jewellery, is set in stone.
Learn more at annahu.com.
All images courtesy of Anna Hu Haute Joaillerie.
