--- title: The Million-Dollar Diamond Pens of Luxury Jewellery Designer Anita Mai Tan description: Jewellery designer Anita Mai Tan on her million-dollar diamond pens, the Silver Road of Love and Imperial Nocturne, and her collector network Anita Salon. author: Dr Marina Nani (Editor-in-Chief) date: 2026-06-23T09:52:25.611Z updated: 2026-06-23T09:52:25.627Z canonical: https://richwoman.co/article/anita-mai-tan-luxury-jewellery-designer image: https://cdn.nanimediahouse.com/anita-mai-tan-imperial-nocturne-pen-16x10.webp categories: Lifestyle, Culture content_type: Spotlight publication: Rich Man Magazine about: - type: Person name: Anita Mai Tan description: Anita Mai Tan is a Canadian jewellery designer and gemologist, and the founder of AlGems and Anita Mai Tan Creations. For more than two decades she has created one-of-a-kind pieces for private clients, working in a bespoke tradition in which each commission begins with the client's own story before a single stone is chosen. Her work spans high jewellery and collectible objects, among them a diamond-set pen, the Dragon iPhone case covered by Robb Report and a series of gold decanters. A ring of hers has been accepted into the GIA Collection, the teaching collection of the Gemological Institute of America. She holds a UAE Ministry of Culture Golden Visa, and a street in Brazil has been named in her honour in recognition of her artistic and humanitarian work. Her most recent pieces, The Silver Road of Love and the Imperial Nocturne, extend her practice into philanthropy, with a portion of the proceeds directed to young people from low-income families. She is now developing Anita Salon, an invitation-only network for collectors of important jewellery. url: https://www.algems.com jobTitle: Jewellery designer and gemologist, founder of AlGems sameAs: - https://www.algems.com --- Anita Mai Tan designs objects that are hard to file under a single heading. Her two most recent pieces are writing instruments, but each is set with thousands of diamonds and priced above a million dollars, which places them closer to high jewellery than to anything kept in a desk drawer. The Silver Road of Love, unveiled this month, is valued at about US$1.3m. The Imperial Nocturne, a one-off fountain pen, is valued at about US$1.68m. Anita, a Canadian designer and gemologist who trades as AlGems, has spent more than two decades making one-off pieces for private clients. The two pens mark a change of direction. One was created without a buyer, with a portion of the proceeds earmarked for young people from low-income families. Alongside them she is building a more ambitious project, a private members' network called Anita Salon, aimed at the people who buy work at this level. ## A Luxury Jewellery Designer Known For Million-Dollar Objects Anita is not new to objects that attract attention for their price. Over the past decade her work has included a diamond-and-gold pen valued at around US$1m, a jewelled iPhone case, the Dragon design that Robb Report singled out, priced at about US$880,000, and a series of gold decanters, all of which drew coverage across luxury and lifestyle titles. She is not a mainstream house in the mould of Cartier or Van Cleef & Arpels; her reputation rests instead on one-off, symbol-laden commissions for collectors who want an object no one else can own. Each commission, she says, begins with a conversation about a client's heritage, milestones and family history, after which stones are chosen for symbolic meaning as much as for appearance. Her clients include royalty, billionaires and established collectors. A ring of hers has been accepted into the GIA Collection, the teaching collection held by the Gemological Institute of America, and has featured in the institute's public outreach. She holds a UAE Ministry of Culture Golden Visa, the long-term residence the Emirates reserves for people of exceptional cultural talent, and a street in Brazil has been named in her honour in recognition of her artistic and humanitarian work. One of her earlier pens has been recognised by Sotheby's among the finest writing instruments in the world. ## The Silver Road Of Love: A $1.3 Million Diamond Pen And Pendant The Silver Road of Love combines two objects, a writing instrument and a pendant, into a single piece. It is set with roughly 5,000 diamonds totalling about 42 carats, crafted in 18-carat rose gold weighing around 420 grams, and measures about 17 centimetres, the result of 22 to 24 months of work. The design takes its name from the Silk Road: the pen stands for words, letters and promises, the pendant for closeness and inheritance, an object meant to be worn, written with and passed between generations. What separates it from the rest of Anita's work is how it was sold. She normally makes pieces to commission for a named client. This one was created without a buyer, as what she calls an artistic and philanthropic statement, with a significant portion of the proceeds intended for youth from low-income families. > "A true masterpiece is not defined by its rarity, but by the story it carries. Luxury becomes legacy when beauty creates meaning, and success creates opportunities for others." > — Anita Mai Tan ## Imperial Nocturne And The Market For The Most Expensive Pens The second pen is a one-off fountain pen, about 72 grams of 18-carat rose and white gold, set with 7,777 natural diamonds totalling roughly 36.88 carats and 88 natural rubies. Anita assigns a meaning to each figure, reading the diamond count as spiritual alignment, the carat weight as prosperity and the rubies as partnership and vitality. The pen, she says, is meant less for writing than for ceremony, for the kind of signature that marks a succession or the founding of a trust. Placed against the rest of the category, the prices are high but not unprecedented. The most expensive pen on public record is the Tibaldi Fulgor Nocturnus, set with hundreds of black diamonds and rubies, which sold at a charity auction for about US$8m. Below it sits a cluster of pieces valued between roughly US$1m and US$2m, including Montblanc's High Artistry fountain pens, the Aurora Diamante and diamond-set pens from Caran d'Ache. Anita's two pieces, at US$1.3m and US$1.68m, sit comfortably in that company. ## High Jewellery And Jewellery As Investment The pens belong to a corner of the luxury market that is thriving. Jewellery has been one of its most resilient categories, and the major houses have leaned further into one-of-a-kind [high jewellery](https://www.richmanmagazine.com/article/seeking-happiness-my-journey-into-harrods-fine-art-jewellery) for their most important clients. Appetite for unique commissions, the kind of work Anita has built her name on, has rarely been stronger. Part of the appeal is jewellery's long record as a [store of value](https://www.richmanmagazine.com/article/inside-the-birkin-matchmaker-s-world-why-a-birkin-bag-is-worth-more-than-just-a-handbag). Knight Frank's luxury investment index has placed jewellery, and coloured diamonds in particular, among the steadier performers of the past decade, a quality the trade likes to call "wearable wealth". A piece such as the Silver Road of Love is made to be worn and inherited, and it is also an asset that travels well across borders and generations. ## Anita Salon: A Private Network For Jewellery Collectors Her next project follows naturally from the work. Anita Salon is an invitation-only network for [ultra-high-net-worth individuals](https://www.richmanmagazine.com/article/nicolas-delrieu-art-influence-and-the-quiet-networks-bridging-monaco-cap-cana-and-beyond), family offices and collectors, less a marketplace than what she calls a "trust architecture" covering provenance, certification, custody, compliance and discreet member-to-member trading, with cultural programming alongside it. The need is clear enough. The market for important jewellery is private by nature, and much of it changes hands quietly rather than on any public exchange. Sotheby's private sales rose by about 20 per cent in 2024, to US$1.4bn, and the auction houses have spent the past decade building private desks to handle exactly this kind of transaction. Invitation-only collector communities are well established, from The Arts Club in London to members-only art networks such as The Cultivist. Anita Salon is her bid to bring that model to fine jewellery. ## A Woman Building For A Market Long Run By Men Both the high-jewellery houses and the world of rare collectible pens remain largely male at the top, which makes her position unusual. She describes the Imperial Nocturne as a masterpiece created by a woman for women, and with Anita Salon she is establishing herself on both sides of the table, as the maker of the objects and as the host of the network through which collectors meet. A portion of the proceeds from her recent pieces, and from Anita Salon, is earmarked for educational, cultural and charitable causes, the thread she returns to across all of it. **About Anita Mai Tan** Jewellery designer and gemologist, founder of AlGems Anita Mai Tan is a Canadian jewellery designer and gemologist, and the founder of AlGems and Anita Mai Tan Creations. For more than two decades she has created one-of-a-kind pieces for private clients, working in a bespoke tradition in which each commission begins with the client's own story before a single stone is chosen. Her work spans high jewellery and collectible objects, among them a diamond-set pen, the Dragon iPhone case covered by Robb Report and a series of gold decanters. A ring of hers has been accepted into the GIA Collection, the teaching collection of the Gemological Institute of America. She holds a UAE Ministry of Culture Golden Visa, and a street in Brazil has been named in her honour in recognition of her artistic and humanitarian work. Her most recent pieces, The Silver Road of Love and the Imperial Nocturne, extend her practice into philanthropy, with a portion of the proceeds directed to young people from low-income families. She is now developing Anita Salon, an invitation-only network for collectors of important jewellery. [Website](https://www.algems.com) ## FAQ **Q: What is the most expensive pen in the world?** The highest price publicly recorded for a pen is about US$8m, paid at a charity auction for the Tibaldi Fulgor Nocturnus, which was set with hundreds of black diamonds and rubies. Below it, most "most expensive pen" rankings sit between roughly US$1m and US$2m, including pieces from Montblanc, Aurora and Caran d'Ache. Anita Mai Tan's Silver Road of Love and Imperial Nocturne, valued at about US$1.3m and US$1.68m, fall within that band. **Q: Why are luxury pens so expensive?** At this level the price reflects materials and labour rather than how the pen writes. A high-jewellery pen can carry thousands of diamonds, several ounces of gold and many months of setting and engineering, and is usually made as a single piece. The value sits in the craftsmanship, the materials and the rarity, much as it would in a piece of fine jewellery. **Q: Is fine jewellery a good investment?** Jewellery has a strong record as a store of value. Industry data places it among the more resilient parts of the luxury market, and long-run luxury investment indices rank jewellery and coloured diamonds among the steadier performers of the past decade. Fine pieces also travel well across borders and pass easily between generations, which is part of their appeal to collectors. **Q: What is bespoke jewellery?** Bespoke jewellery is made to commission for a specific client rather than produced as a collection. The process usually begins with a conversation about the wearer's taste, history and intentions, after which stones and materials are chosen and the piece is designed around them. Anita Mai Tan works this way, describing each commission as built around a client's personal story.