But she’s equally well-known for repeatedly smashing the record for the highest price paid for a piece by a contemporary Chinese jeweller – first with the Orpheus jade ring, which sold for US$2.59 million at Christie’s Hong Kong in 2013, then later the same year with the Cote d’Azur brooch, which fetched US$4.56 million at Christie’s Geneva, then again six years on with the Dunhuang Pipa necklace, which went under the hammer at Sotheby’s Hong Kong in 2019 and made a cool US$5.78 million.
It was no surprise, therefore, to see a selection of pieces from her latest collection being showcased on one of the most glamorous stages of all: The European Fine Art Foundation (TEFAF) Maastricht, the world’s leading fine art, antiques and design fair, which took place at the end of June.
How do independent high jewellery artists stand out from the crowd?
How do independent high jewellery artists stand out from the crowd?
Hu even helped the event properly celebrate its 35th year by presenting the same number of pieces from her collection.
They were grouped into the three themes that have inspired her work since she established her brand in New York in 2007 aged just 30: art deco aesthetics, flowers and music – the latter reflecting her background as a professional cellist and former child prodigy who moved to the US as a teenager to pursue her dreams as a musician, even performing alongside the legendary Yo-Yo Ma aged just 14.
Among the art deco pieces on display in Maastricht were the Skylight rings, inspired by the iconic warped curves of New York’s Guggenheim Museum. Hu was moved to create the pieces when she looked up inside the building at the skylight, imagining it as a gemstone, with bands of diamonds alongside it echoing the shape of the interior’s accompanying spiral staircase.
The Edwardian bow has been a popular design since it emerged in the early 20th century, exemplifying that era’s decorous sense of elegance. Now this classic art deco motif has been reinterpreted by Hu in a fluid, kinetic piece of sculpture, also on display at TEFAF, dramatically adorned with vibrant pink sapphires in a range of shades.
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Hu’s lifelong love of music is at the heart of the Metamorphosis bracelet, inspired by Mozart’s Twelve Variations on “Ah vous dirai-je, maman”, the tune best known today as Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. The piece represents a butterfly’s transformation in a riot of coloured stones, including a Moussaieff 35.40-carat light brown marquise diamond at its centre.
The beauty of both nature and great art is behind one of the other pieces at TEFAF, the Da Vinci Eglantine brooch. Showcasing Hu’s appreciation for the intricate forms of flowers, its gentle, gemstone-encrusted curves take their cue from Leonardo da Vinci’s famous sketches of eglantine roses.
