Anna Hu

Anna Hu (Chinese: 胡茵菲; pinyin: Hú Yīnfēi; born 1977) is a Taiwanese-American jewelry designer.

Early life

Anna Hu was born in Tainan in 1977, and raised between Tainan and New York City. Both her parents worked in jewelry wholesale, her father specialized in gemstones while her mother specialized in jade and pearl. As a prodigy cellist, at the age of 13 she was selected by the Taiwanese government to study abroad, attending Walnut Hill School, and later the New England Conservatory of Music. However, due to over-practicing, she was diagnosed with shoulder tendonitis in 1997 which forced her to abandon her thriving musical career.

Afterwards, she went to study gemology at the Gemological Institute of America, where she earned her Graduate Gemologist certificate. She then studied jewelry design at the Fashion Institute of Technology and received master's degree in art history and arts administration respectively from Parsons School of Design and Columbia University.

Career

After graduating from Parsons, Hu interned at Christie's and then worked at Van Cleef & Arpels. While working at Harry Winston, Inc., she became close with her mentor Maurice Galli, who encouraged her to start her own business.

Hu founded her eponymous jewelry brand "Anna Hu Haute Joaillarie" in 2007, and opened her first boutique store at the Plaza Hotel in 2008.

In July 2012, Hu held her first solo exhibition Symphony of Jewels: Opus 1 at the Musée des Arts décoratifs, Paris.

In March 2022, Hu was invited by the world’s most preeminent fair of fine art, antiques and design TEFAF (The European Fine Art Foundation) Maastricht to exhibit in its 35th Edition fair as the only Asian jewelry artist among the handful of distinguished jewellers.

In popular culture

Hu's jewelry has been worn by several celebrities on prominent events. Madonna wore the Edelweiss Diamond Cross at the 2009 Costume Institute Gala and Natalie Portman wore the Turandot Earrings and Wallis Simpson Bracelet at the 2013 Vanity Fair Oscars Party.