Find Out How This Jeweler Translates Nature Into Precious Stones

Influenced by nature, her Chinese heritage, classical music and art, New York-based, Taiwanese cellist-turned-jewelry designer Anna Hu infuses her creations with an East-meets-West philosophy. After working for Van Cleef & Arpels and Harry Winston, she established her namesake brand at the age of 30, setting up workshops in New York and Paris, and opened her first boutique in New York’s The Plaza Hotel the following year. Counting Natalie Portman, Gwyneth Paltrow, Emily Blunt, Scarlett Johansson, Naomi Watts and Uma Thurman among her clients, she holds the global auction record for a contemporary Chinese jewel with her $5.78 million Dunhuang Pipa necklace inspired by the Dunhuang Mogao grottoes.

Hu’s pieces have always shown a fondness for the animal kingdom, including highly-symbolic birds in Chinese culture such as her Dancing Crane pearl necklace or Fire Phoenix earrings in rubellite. Her China Red Magpie brooch set with rubies, sapphires, yellow diamonds, a South Sea pearl and Paraiba tourmaline – paying tribute to “Immortal Blossoms in an Everlasting Spring”, an artwork that showcases the beauty of China from a Western perspective by Jesuit missionary and Qing Dynasty imperial court painter, Giuseppe Castiglione – even entered into the Moscow Kremlin State Historical Museum’s permanent collection.

“Nature is an important source of inspiration,” Hu says. “Whenever I surround myself with nature, I feel calm, peaceful and full of energy, which I like to share through my creations. That’s why I use a lot of gifts from nature: forms of flowers or animals, the theme of the ocean and natural gemstones. For example, my Butterfly Collection not only poses as a perfect example of my close observation of nature in every form, but also shows my deep connection to butterflies, my favorite natural creature, as reflected in my last name in Chinese.” Butterflies are her trademark, from Les Deux Papillons brooch referencing the Chinese legend The Butterfly Lovers that represents two butterflies in a peony garden to the diamond Papillon du Blanc ring interpreting a snowy winter.

Another masterpiece is Hu’s Monet Water Lilies necklace and bracelet adorned with diamonds, sapphires, morganites, tsavorites, tanzanites, alexandrites and tourmalines in a brilliant color palette of blues, greens, pinks, purples, yellows and greys in honor of the French artist’s paintings. Having a special connection with the ocean, the Siren Aria bracelet and ring, where emeralds and sapphires take center stage, recreate an underwater world teeming with marine life. Her Cote d’Azur brooch is centered upon a vivid royal blue cushion-shaped Burmese sapphire surrounded by a sea leaf, evoking a magnificent ocean, while she helped to raise funds for Prince Albert of Monaco’s Monte Carlo Gala for the Global Ocean with her Leaping Koi brooch-necklace.

“Everything that comes in pure form without any additional unnecessary decoration is precious,” Hu concludes. “It could be a beautiful fancy vivid pink diamond or a piece of dazzling jewelry created with authenticity. When defining things that are precious to oneself, it all comes down to personal experiences – whether it brings you joy and happiness, adds more value to your life or is just inseparable to you. Of course, I also see everything that comes from Mother Earth as precious, and that’s why I feel so lucky and grateful to have a career surrounded by natural gemstones, the most beautiful treasures in the world.”