NEW YORK, July 6, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Diamonds That Care expects to raise $420,000 for three dazzling unique brown-toned diamond jewelry pieces to be sold at Christie's this July. All of the proceeds will benefit families of healthcare workers who lost their lives in the battle against COVID-19.
The online charity auction will be taking place between July 3-13. The jewelry pieces -- a necklace, a red-gold ring, and a pair of earrings -- are displayed at Christie's website as of today, June 29.
Diamonds That Care, the social responsibility initiative of ALROSA, the world's largest diamond miner by volume, initiated this charity auction aimed at making diamonds help people in need. The company provided more than 500 colorless and fancy colored brown-toned polished diamonds, including a fancy brown-yellow 27-carat stone, for these exceptional three pieces of jewelry.
Chinese haute joaillerie artist Anna Hu was invited to create the set and wholeheartedly supported the project as of day one. "The pandemic has shown us terrible examples of suffering, as well as amazing examples of how people are helping each other," said Ms. Hu. "I was inspired by these thoughts while working on the collection. I hope my jewelry pieces will be a contribution to the fight against the coronavirus. I also hope it will set a positive example for people and remind them of how important it is to help those who protected us. These pieces are set at affordable prices as I want anyone to be able to join the bidding process and to help raise funds to help the families that lost loved ones to the fight against COVID-19."
Anna Hu's jewelry to be auctioned includes:
"The overall idea of this jewelry set is to celebrate how people have been opening their hearts to one another. 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," Ms. Hu continued. "Whether through the perfect heart-shaped necklace, the earrings formed in continuous heart links, or the ring with a double heart motif, the message I'd like to convey is that jewelry can also serve as a way of doing good. To highlight the rarest pinkish, peachy color of ALROSA's 27.02 carat pear-shaped fancy brown-yellow diamond and its aligning brown diamonds, I used red gold for these three pieces, with the goal of bringing more warmth and love to the world."
To further encourage bidders' interest in the auction, Ms. Hu will donate the original sketches outlining her inspiration behind these three pieces.
As the Diamonds That Care initiative does not hold the status of a charity foundation, the proceeds from the auction will be transferred to "Diamonds Do Good," a global nonprofit organization which, in turn, will allocate the funds to organizations supporting healthcare workers in the U.S. and around the world.
"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. Diamonds have always been an expression of the most sincere emotions. 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," commented Sergey Ivanov, CEO of ALROSA.
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About ALROSA
ALROSA is a world leader in diamond mining, accounting for every fourth stone sold on the global market. ALROSA operates more than 25 open pits and alluvials in Russia, primarily in Yakutia. In addition to mining, ALROSA has its own cutting and polishing facilities, and is especially well-skilled in large and colored diamonds. Owning the entire chain of mining and production, ALROSA can trace the history of its diamonds from the moment of extraction and provide complete origin data. The company is an industry leader in social investments: according to a PwC study, ALROSA allocates about 3% of its revenue to social programs each year. A funding pool of about $150 million allows the company to implement about 500 social and charitable initiatives each year. Another $80 million is spent annually on environmental projects, including the protection of reindeer and river fish species. As part of the fight against coronavirus, the company donated $7 million to purchase medicine and equipment for local community hospitals.
About Diamonds Do Good
Inspired by Nelson Mandela, Diamonds Do Good® tells the world about the positive impact of diamonds in Africa. Now supported by the global diamond industry, its mission is to support programs that develop and empower people in natural diamond communities and to share these stories of positive impact. DiamondsDoGood.com
About Anna Hu
Anna Hu is an internationally-renowned jewelry artist, born in Taiwan and educated in the U.S. Hu approaches her art with a distinctly East-meets-West philosophy and an aesthetic that is heavily influenced by both cultures. She has studied at the Gemological Institute of America, F.I.T., Parsons School of Design (Masters in 19th century French Jewelry), and Columbia University (Masters in Arts Administration). After working for Christie's, Van Cleef & Arpels, and Harry Winston, she founded her namesake brand, Anna Hu Haute Joaillerie, at the age of 30 and opened her first boutique one year later in New York's famed Plaza Hotel. Anna Hu has since been based in New York.
About Christie's
Christie's, the world's leading art business, had auction sales in 2019 that totaled £4.5 billion / $5.8 billion. Christie's is a name and place that speaks of extraordinary art, unparalleled service, and international expertise. Christie's conducts around 350 auctions annually in over 80 categories, including all areas of fine and decorative arts, jewelry, photographs, collectibles, wine, and more. Prices range from $200 to over $100 million. Christie's also has a long and successful history conducting private sales for its clients in all categories, with an emphasis on Post-War & Contemporary, Impressionist & Modern, Old Masters, and Jewelry. Alongside regular online sales, Christie's has a global presence in 46 countries, with 10 salerooms around the world including in London, New York, Paris, Geneva, Milan, Amsterdam, Dubai, Zürich, Hong Kong, and Shanghai.
*Please note when quoting estimates above that other fees will apply in addition to the hammer price - see Section D of the Conditions of Sale at the back of the sale catalogue.
*Estimates do not include buyer's premium. Sales totals are hammer price plus buyer's premium and are reported net of applicable fees.
