Sotheby's to Sell 100ct. Yellow-Diamond Necklace

RAPAPORT... Sotheby's has collaborated with Chinese jewelry designer Anna Hu on a five-piece collection featuring a 100-carat, fancy-intense-yellowdiamond necklace. Hu's Silk Road Music Collection will go under the hammer atthe October Magnificent Jewels and Jadeite auction in Hong Kong, with theDunhuang Pipa piece leading the sale. Inspired by the image of a lady playingthe pipa -a four-stringed Chinese lute - the necklace transforms into a brooch andan earring, Sotheby's said last week. It carries a presale estimate of $5million to $6.25 million. The Silk Road was a network of trade routes connecting east and west Asia, used by merchants in the lucrative silk industry. It was also responsible for the spread of musical styles between cultures, which is the focus of Hu's collection. "We are excited to present the latest jewelry creations bythe talented Anna Hu, who has transformed top-quality gemstones intoinspirational jewelry masterpieces," said Yvonne Chu, acting head of jewelryfor Sotheby's. "The Dunhaung Pipa necklace is one of the most important jewelrypieces on offer this season." The collection also includes a piece called Ellington, featuring earrings containing conch pearls, sapphires and diamonds, and another named Cello, a jadeite, diamond and pink-sapphire brooch. Both of those pieces are valued at $280,000 to$350,000 each. Blue Magpie, a conch-pearl, gem-set and diamond brooch containingover 500 gems, will be offered for $190,000 to $225,000, while a ruby anddiamond ring, called Appassionata, is estimated at $80,000 to $100,000. In 2013, a brooch designed by Hu achieved $4.6 million atauction in Geneva, setting a record at the time for the highest price for a piece by a contemporary jewelry artist. Her pieces are worn by celebrities includingMadonna, Gwyneth Paltrow, Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson. "I want this collection to speak to my Chinese roots, and Ithought the beauty of jewels could be enhanced with a touch of the traditional-yet-exoticmusic that once flowed through the Silk Road," Hu explained. Image: The 100.02-carat Anna Hu Dunhuang Pipa Necklace. (Sotheby's )