A striking hand ornament hangs permanently at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs on the Rue de Rivoli, Paris. Two serpents, one in yellow gold and the other in white, each studded with innumerable diamonds and gemstones, symbolise East and West. Each glittering reptile has its fangs struck into a circle of black and white mother-of-pearl, clearly representing yin and yang. It’s sculptural, ornamental, artistic, and philosophical; rather than a “bracelet”, it’s a deeply meditative concept.
This unique creation could only spring from the mind of celebrated jewellery artist and cellist Anna Hu. Be it her choice of colours, sculptural shapes, artistic influences, Eastern soul and Western aesthetic, Hu approaches her craft uniquely, like a symphony— unsurprising if you know her rich, peripatetic history. Hu studied at the New England Conservatory of Music, and her design inspirations are often rooted in her deep devotion to classical music. She speaks about Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms with the same ease as François Gérard, Jean-Baptiste Regnault, and Pablo Picasso, influences garnered and honed at Parsons School of Design and the Gemological Institute of America.
Hu’s love for art took her to Christie’s, where her erudition in both art history and storied jewellery came into play. Her interest in dazzling gemstones brought her later to the gilded doors of Van Cleef & Arpels and then Harry Winston. The sum of this experience led to the formation of Anna Hu Haute Joaillerie in 2007.
Within a year, the brand had opened a boutique in New York’s famed Plaza Hotel; soon after, you could spot Hu’s jewels on Gwyneth Paltrow, Madonna, and Oprah Winfrey.
The French-Chinese high jewellery brand specialises in limited-edition and one-of-akind pieces, crafted of precious metals and the rarest stones in the world. Each piece draws on Hu’s heritage, nature, and art, and is executed by French artisans who are masters of old-world craft and stewards of new-world innovation. These Paris ateliers rank among the world’s greatest, and have worked with grand French Maisons for generations.
This sense of history and legacy permeates Hu’s work, all of which has been meticulously curated in her books Symphony of Jewels: Opus 1 (2012) and Symphony of Jewels: Opus 2 (2019). Limited editions featuring her musings, her designs, and her inspirations, they’re vivid tomes of the creative process put to paper.
In 2013, Hu broke the world auction record for the highest price paid for a contemporary jewellery artist at the Christie’s Magnificent Jewels sale in Geneva. Six years later, she broke the world auction record for the highest price paid for a contemporary Chinese jewellery artist at the Sotheby’s Magnificent Jewels and Jadeite sale in Hong Kong. She won Elle China’s International Jewellery Designer of the Year award, alongside Christian Louboutin, and the China Institute’s Artistic Vision award in New York, the first time for a jewellery artist. More recently, June 2022 saw Hu debut at TEFAF Maastricht for the fair’s 35th anniversary. With these behind, Anna Hu Haute Joaillerie celebrates its 15th anniversary, and we await with intrigue what comes next.
