Gwyneth Paltrow Wears Anna Hu Haute Joaillerie to the 84th Academy Awards

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 26, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Academy Award winning actress, Gwyneth Paltrow, wears Anna Hu Haute Joaillerie exclusively to the 84th Academy Awards.

Hearts of Winter Cuff

This one of a kind cuff bracelet symbolizes the frozen ice of winter and is made of 2,368 rose-cut, round brilliant diamonds weighing 163 carats, all with D color and VVS clarity. After seeing the Nutcracker ballet, Anna imagined this exquisite all‐white jewel for the snow queen. $1,000,000

Duchess Hibiscus Ring

Anna has elevated the double-hoop ring into a work of art that is also eminently wearable. Two hoops are joined side by side so they can be worn on two adjacent fingers, or they can be pressed together and worn on one finger. Rose cut and round diamonds with purple sapphires set in 18-karat white gold. $160,000

About Anna Hu Haute Joaillerie

Anna Hu was born in Taiwan in 1977 and grew up traveling the world with her renowned gemologist father on his quest for rare stones. A child musical prodigy, she won several national awards as a cellist and moved to the US at age 14 to study at the Walnut Hill Arts School followed by the New England Conservatory of Music. After a severe shoulder injury, she immediately began pursuing her second passion of fine jewels.

At age 20, Anna attended FIT and received her Graduate Gemologist degree from GIA. She then earned two art-related Masters Degrees from Parsons School for Design and Columbia University. She began her career at Christie's Auction House, followed by Van Cleef & Arpels and Harry Winston. It was while working at Harry Winston that she met the brand's legendary head designer, Maurice Galli, who took her on as his only private student and encouraged her to create her own collection. Anna Hu Haute Joaillerie was founded in 2008 with a private jewelry salon at The Plaza Hotel in New York.

Anna's designs are a unique blend of Eastern and Western influences, often inspired by her love of classical music and classic and contemporary art. Anna is also extremely passionate about the technical innovation used in the creation of her pieces. Though her designs are brought to life by French-trained artisans in Paris and New York, using a highly technical old school approach to jewelry-making, she is constantly challenging them to develop new techniques to realize her designs.

Anna was honored in 2011 with the China Institute's "Artistic Vision" award (the first time it has ever been given to a jewelry designer). Her first book entitled, Symphony of Jewels: Opus 1, will be published this Fall by Vendome Press and Thames & Hudson. The fashion industry has also embraced Anna with features and placements in The Wall Street Journal, W, The New York Times, ELLE, InStyle, and Town & Country, among others. Her pieces have been worn by celebrities including Madonna, Scarlett Johansson, Drew Barrymore, Hilary Swank, Oprah Winfrey, and Cindy Sherman. Anna's jewels were also used in the recent biopic, W.E., which is nominated for Best Costume Design at this year's Academy Awards.

Anna creates no more than 30 exclusive Haute Joaillerie pieces per year for private collectors. Heralded in her native China as "Empress of Contemporary Art Jewelry" and by The Wall Street Journal as the "Diamond District Artisan," she resides in New York.

SOURCE Anna Hu Haute Joaillerie