BIOGRAPHY:With a dazzling career in the jewelry industry that spans 50 years and 53 national and international awards, Henry Dunay has achieved the status of legend due to his winning combination of work ethic, creative passion, and expert craftsmanship. He began his apprenticeship humbly at 14, undertaking errands for a master goldsmith who quickly recognized the exceptional ability of his pupil. Seven years later, Dunay emerged from his formal training and opened his own business next to his teacher. The excitement of the 1950s brought great attention to the growing jewelry district and word quickly spread about the young and talented Dunay, who initially established his reputation with one-of-a-kind original creations distinguished by their dazzling display of the painstaking pave-setting technique.
The following years saw Henry Dunay relocate his business to be closer to the glamorous pulse of Fifth Avenue. However, it also saw him endure the inevitable dual struggle of keeping his infant business afloat while maintaining his creativity blossoming as a designer. Dunay's big break came when he won the De Beers Diamonds International Award for his design of a gold ring deeply carved like the bark of a tree and glistening with sapphires and diamonds. This coveted accolade--one he would win three more times by 1982--led to national exposure as well as commissioned works which included a gold chastity belt and a golden goblet.
Burgeoning recognition gave the designer the confidence to think in terms of a more unified concept. Rather than focusing on individual pieces as he had been, Dunay pursued the development of a collection with a unifying signature design and theme. This led to the introduction of his Faceted collection--gold jewelry with many surfaces, created by cutting strong patterns into it. Since then, Dunay has enriched his exclusive product line with the Sabi collection, which features a gold brushed finish, the Cynnabar collection--a tribute to Eastern art, and the Color Me Henry collection, which showcases semi-precious gemstones of various colors. Through it all, Henry Dunay has maintained his design integrity and established a unique aesthetic that stands out from the work of other jewelers--a goal he had set out to achieve from the early days when he was mastering his craft as a young apprentice.
VIALUXE:
Hi Henry, it’s great to meet you. Can you tell me how you got your start in the jewelry industry? HENRY DUNAY:
I come from a family where the first son was going to be a doctor. Well, I was the second son. So in the summer time, my father said, "Henry, go to work." So through a friend of a friend of a friend, I got a job as an errand boy for a jeweler in New York City on Canal Street. After two months running errands I had to go back to school and I spoke with the man, Mr. Caccioli, who was a wonderful old elder gentleman. I asked him if I could sit down and learn the trade. I saw an opportunity to have a trade. He said "Yeah" and after school went for a year and after that I served seven years as an apprentice for $25 a week. I turned 21 on May 1st and on May 10th, I started my own business, and I have been in business for 52 years this May 10th.
VIALUXE:
Can you talk a little bit about the essence of the Henry Dunay brand? HENRY DUNAY:
Quality, love of life, love of what I do. I love the jewelry. I still sit at the bench and work because to me that’s my hobby. It's not work - it’s my hobby. To see someone enjoy - let me tell you a story. I had a customer come into a store and the staff said, "Mrs. So- and- So is coming in and we want her to meet you. She wants to buy a gold necklace and a gold pair of earrings. She wants you to pick it out." I said "Fine, no problem." She came in - we went through everything - I picked out everything - everything was fine. She was very happy. They were wrapping it up, putting it in the computer - all that business. I started telling her about my art objects.
We were going through them and I came to one object and to me - this was her. This is what I saw when I initially designed it. I said, "I want you to try this on." She said "no Henry, I just want to buy the necklace and earrings." I said, "Look I'm not going to sell it to you." I said, "Put this on and I want you to see what I am talking about." She put it on and she turned around and there was a big tall mirror there. She stood there for ten minutes. She turned around with tears in her eyes. She came back and said, "You’re right, this is me - this brooch is me - I'm going to buy it." I said, "Can I take it off, I need the ticket?" She said, "No, no, no, cut if off - you put it on, it’s going to stay there." That joy, that I saw in her eyes, those tears, was more important to me than the sale because it proved what I wanted people to understand about what I do. As an artist we do things and a lot of times people buy it - because they just like it and they don't know why...
VIALUXE:
Can you talk me through a day in the life of Henry Dunay?HENRY DUNAY:
Well first of all I am in my office at six o'clock in the morning. I do my phone calls into Europe and Japan or wherever and then I prepare the work for all the men. I go to all the boxes and I know what is in everyone's box, so if I am busy I know where they are with any particular job. Then around a quarter to seven I have my coffee and I sit down at my bench and I work till around eight thirty to ten. Then the phone starts to ring and it’s all over. Around five I’lI take a cup of tea and I sit back down at my bench and I work on a piece.
VIALUXE:
I heard you once made a mask for Elizabeth Taylor. Can you tell me more about it?HENRY DUNAY:
Elizabeth Taylor came to me and asked me if I would design a mask that would be worn at a masquerade that would actually raise money for AIDS. They were going to auction it off - which never really happened - things in life changed. I worked on it and made this mask that was about so big. It has beautiful eyes and then it has a gold tear. The mask is called "La Crymosa", which is Portuguese for "tear duct" or a "tear". I wanted people to understand that this mask was created to fight a tragedy in our time because in 30-40 years from now people will forget about AIDS because there is a cure and it goes on. I wanted people to understand that this is why this mask was made. I met Princess Diana in London and we had the mask there - and it was going to be shown with her at a function that they had that night. As we talked about it, she said that "the shame of it is those poor babies who are born into this world and both feet are in a hole because they have AIDS from day one.”
So basically I took some of the big diamonds out and lowered the price of it because a lot of charities said they couldn't afford the insurance on it - and it has raised a lot of money for AIDS. I still have it. Someday the Smithsonian wants me to donate it and I will. It’s very special. Even the back of it has a bunch of little heart shapes so it won’t hurt the person who is wearing it. It’s got a lorgnette that you hold it with. I wanted to represent all the nine or ten different arts - someone famous that died from AIDS. Kind of like a memorial to them. AMFAR got involved and all of a sudden - they were the public relations and all of a sudden I had 10 names for every art. I wanted to do Rock Hudson from movies and Perry Ellis from couture. Things like that, very simple - a memorial - which I believe would have heightened the specialness of the mask.
VIALUXE:
You use a lot of colored gemstones. Can you talk to me about why you choose what you do?HENRY DUNAY:
Basically what happens is, there are beautiful rubies, there are beautiful tanzanites, there are beautiful topazes and other designers will use the poorest quality - and to me that’s a shame. Because you take a beautiful gem, whatever it is, and let me build a frame around it. Let me show it as a painting. Let me show it to the woman that has it on her finger - every time she looks at it and says "oh my god, that stone is so beautiful - look at the light." I've seen women just play with it - looking at the gems in the light. That’s what I wanted and I have searched around the world for gems and this year at the fair you will see some unique, special pieces that I have done that are built around the gem. It not the design, I find the stone and then I design for that stone. Usually when I find a stone and open up the parcel, it’s within seconds I know what I am going to do. It speaks to me. People think I'm crazy. "Stones talk to ya?" But in all reality, they do.
I will tell you another little story. In Japan I had a woman that wanted to buy one of my ruby rings and I had 3 different ones. They were 3 different sizes but not that big of a difference. She was looking and looking and she said "Dunay-san, which one do you want me to have?" I said, "No, no, it’s supposed to be the one you want." She said, "I don't know." I said "Why do you keep touching the one on the right? There is something about that stone, it’s speaking to you." She said, "You're right, I don't know why." She just kept touching it. So that’s what I mean about gems talking to you, and it happens to me all the time.
VIALUXE:
Speaking of gemstones, do you have a favorite gemstone?HENRY DUNAY:
If you asked me this last year, it was rubies. This year I have these wonderful Mandarin garnets. I have used them for years but I just ran across some beautiful - not this bright orange, but a light brown orange and they are brilliant as brilliant can be and that’s what talks to me is that brilliancy.
VIALUXE:
Do certain gemstones evoke certain emotions from you?HENRY DUNAY:
I am not a fan of black onyx at all and some other stones, but I use black jade. Black jade has this shine on it that you can see your face in. You can use it as a mirror. This happiness to me when a stone has the sparkle and shine that I want and when I create the setting for it, the frame for it, and it has that sparkle and shine, that’s what makes me happy.
VIALUXE:
Can you talk me through your creative process a bit? HENRY DUNAY:
First of all, I have to find the stone. Once I have the stone, then I build around it. There are many times I will get the piece 80-90 percent finished and I look at it and there is something wrong with it. There is something absolutely wrong with it and I don't know. So every morning I take it out of the safe and the tray and I put it on my desk. That could go on 2-3 weeks and nothing happens. Then all of a sudden, one day I walk into the office and I look down, and there it is, there is the problem. It was there all the while, but I was too busy with other things to see it. It’s better not to finish it. Don't rush it, put it on the side. When you come back you got to get into the piece. You fall inside it, you come out of it, put it aside and let it come back to you.
VIALUXE:
Can you talk about a specific piece that gave you artist block?HENRY DUNAY:
It was an object of art and I just didn't see where the problem was. It was a ruby. It was that "Lost Empire" out there. I just… there was something wrong and what was wrong was I needed to put some of those broken columns down on the floor because it was a totally lost empire - it was ruins and it didn't make sense. It had to have broken columns down, leaning and all that business. It’s like the earthquake came to Pompeii and knocked it all down. That’s what I wanted.
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