Starting Friday, Christie’s will host an online sale of three exceptional pieces of jewelry, all specially created by high jewelry designer Anna Hu, with proceeds benefiting families of health care workers who lost their lives in the battle against COVID-19.
The charitable element will be facilitated by Diamonds That Care, a new social-responsibility initiative powered by Alrosa.
As the Diamonds That Care initiative does not hold the status of a charity foundation, the proceeds from the auction will be transferred to the global nonprofit Diamonds Do Good, which, in turn, will allocate the funds to organizations supporting health care workers in the United States and around the world.
Diamonds That Care expects the Christie’s Anna Hu sale to raise $420,000.
“The world is beginning to cope with the coronavirus pandemic, but nothing will fully restore the health of those doctors and nurses who have been fighting for people for the past several months, and especially those who gave their lives to this fight,” said Sergey Ivanov, CEO of Alrosa in a statement. “We want them to express our deep respect for medical professionals and the heroic deeds they have accomplished and to help them and their families.”
Naturally, Hu’s three creations all feature Alrosa diamonds—more than 500 colorless and fancy colored brown-toned polished diamonds, to be exact—from the company’s mine in Siberia.
The undeniable highlight is a necklace with a fancy brown-yellow diamond weighing 27.02 cts. as its centerpiece (see rendering below).
The necklace in progress. “The pandemic has shown us terrible examples of suffering, as well as amazing examples of how people are helping each other,” said Hu, also in a statement. “I was inspired by these thoughts while working on the collection. I hope my jewelry…will set a positive example for people and remind them of how important it is to help those who protected us.”A heart motif unites the three pieces (ring and earring renderings pictured at top), and all reflect Hu’s signature sculptural, elegant forms and color combinations.
“The overall idea of this jewelry set is to celebrate how people have been opening their hearts to one another,” said Hu, in a statement. “That’s why the most important element in these three pieces is the heart shape. The heart is the best symbol to show that you care.”
Top: For the Christie’s online auction event benefiting Diamonds That Care, Taiwan-born, New York–based high jewelry designer Anna Hu created three pieces using Alrosa diamonds. Renderings here show a ring with 1.59 ct. faint brown diamond, fancy color diamonds, and colorless diamonds in 18k red gold (top right) and a matching pair of earrings with fancy color diamonds, each featuring a 3 ct. pear-shape diamond. Bidding starts Friday and runs through July 13.
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