Anna Hu

Anna Hu (born 1977) is a New York-based Chinese jewelry designer.

Early life

Anna Hu was born in Tainan, Taiwan to a family in the jewelry business.^[1] She trained in cello, winning national awards and in 1991 moved to the United States as an exchange student at the Walnut Hill School in Boston. She continued her studies in 1995 at the New England Conservatory of Music on a scholarship, however her musical career was cut short due to a shoulder injury.^[2]

Switching her attention to jewelry design, she attended the Gemological Institute of America and FIT in New York.^[3] In 2001, she received a Masters in Art History from Parsons School of Design followed by a Masters in Arts Administration from Columbia University.^[4][5]

During this time, Hu progressed from interning at Christie’s, New York to working at Van Cleef and Arpels in the stone purchasing department and Harry Winston in the jewelry merchandising department.^[6]

Career

In 2007, Hu founded Anna Hu Haute Joaillerie, a French-Chinese fine jewelry brand specializing in one-of-a-kind jewelry made by French-trained jewelers using fine gems. She opened the brand’s first boutique at the Plaza Hotel in New York in 2008.^[7] She later opened a boutique at the Regent Hotel in Taipei.^[8]

Hu collaborated with fashion designer Jason Wu for his Resort 2010 fashion show in New York.^[9]

In 2012, Hu became the first Asian jeweler to show a solo exhibition at the Louvre's Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris. Named Symphony of Jewels: Opus 1, this was Hu's first global exhibition and also the title of Hu's first book, published by Vendome Press and Thames & Hudson that same year.^[10]

Hu's work is popular at auction. In May 2013 she broke the world auction record for a Chinese contemporary jewelry artist.^[11] Her Orpheus Jade ring sold for $2.59 million at the Christie's Magnificent Jewels sale in Hong Kong.^[12] That November her Côte d’Azur brooch sold for $4.57 million at their sale in Geneva and broke the world auction records for highest price paid for a contemporary jewelry artist and the highest price paid per carat for a Burmese sapphire.^[13][14] In July 2016, Hu was a special guest of H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco and attended the 77th Bal de la Croix Rouge.^[15][16] In September, she launched her 2016 Haute Joaillerie Collection at the Ritz Paris in partnership with Christie’s Magnificent Jewels for the Biennale des Antiquaires.^[17]

Female celebrities enjoy Anna Hu's jewelry. Her work has been worn by Gwyneth Paltrow,^[18] Madonna,^[19] Emily Blunt,^[20] Natalie Portman, Naomi Watts, Uma Thurman,^[21] Scarlett Johansson,^[22] Drew Barrymore,^[23] Hilary Swank, Angelababy, Cindy Sherman,^[24] the Queen of Bhutan,^[25][26] and Oprah Winfrey.^[27][28]

Public Speaking

• Columbia Business School, "Unveiling China’s Next Wave of Surprises" - 2016^[29]
• Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania - 2016^[30]

Awards

• China Institute’s "Artistic Vision of the Year" Award - 2011^[31]
• Winner: "International Jewelry Designer of the Year" at ELLE China Style Awards - 2012
• Winner: "Jewelry Designer of the Year" at ELLE Taiwan Style Awards - 2013

Further reading

• Woolton, Carol (16 November 2011). Drawing Jewels for Fashion. Prestel. ISBN 3791346024. 
• Zapata, Janet (1 September 2012). Symphony of Jewels: Anna Hu Opus 1. Vendome Press. ISBN 0865652902. 
• Weir-de la Rouchefoucauld, Juliet (16 November 2013). 21st Century Jewellery Designers: An Inspired Style. Antique Collectors Club. ISBN 1851497293. 
• Woolton, Carol (12 November 2014). Floral Jewels: From the World's Leading Designers. Prestel. ISBN 3791381148. 

References

External links

• Official Site