Well, let me tell ya ’bout this fella, Henry Dunay. Don’t know him from Adam, but I heard some things, ya know, gossip and such. Folks say he was a big shot in the jewelry makin’ business. Henry Dunay, that’s the name. They say he wasn’t always called Dunay, had some other long, hard-to-say name before, somethin’ like… Lon-nie-yew-ski? Sounded foreign to me. But hey, what do I know? I’m just an old woman.
Anyway, this Henry, he was born way back in 1935, May the first, they say. Lived a long life, ’til 2023, November the tenth. Guess he saw a lot in his time. More than I have, that’s for sure. They say he was American, born and bred. Made jewelry, fancy stuff, the kind you see on them movie stars, I reckon. Gold and such. Goldsmith, they called him.
- Born: May 1, 1935
- Died: November 10, 2023
- Occupation: Goldsmith and Jewelry Designer
Now, I ain’t never seen his jewelry myself, but they say it was somethin’ special. He had this way of makin’ it look… old, ya know? Like it had been scratched up and worn for years. They called it “Sabi.” Sounds like somethin’ you’d say to a horse, “Sabi, girl! Sabi!” But I guess it was fancy. Made him famous, they tell me. Red carpet famous, like them actresses with their fancy dresses and diamonds.
He started young, this Henry did. Just a young’un, 14 years old. Went to work for some city fella, in New York City. Rudolph somebody. Learned the trade, I guess. Started from the bottom, like they say. Probably swept floors and such before he got to makin’ the shiny stuff. Hard work, that is. Not like these youngsters today, always on their phones, don’t know a day’s work if it hit ’em in the face.
Jewelry Design, that’s what he did. Made rings and necklaces and whatnot. Probably worth more than my whole house, these things. I seen some pictures once, in a magazine at the doctor’s office. Shiny things, sparkly things. Not my style, mind you. I like simple things. But some folks like that kinda stuff, I guess. Makes ’em feel special.
He was real good at what he did, this Henry Dunay. Recognized, they said. That means people knew his name, knew his work. Like knowin’ the name of the fella who makes the best pies in town, or the one who fixes your car. Only fancy-like. Famous jeweler, that’s what he was.
I heard tell that his jewelry, the “Sabi” stuff, it wasn’t just about makin’ it look old. It was about makin’ it look… lived in. Like it had a story to tell. Each scratch, each mark, it meant somethin’. I guess that’s why them movie stars liked it. They like things with stories, I reckon. Makes ’em feel important.
Don’t know much else about him, to be honest. Just that he was a jeweler, a famous one, and he made things look old on purpose. And that his name used to be somethin’ else. Henry Lon-nie-yew-ski. Try sayin’ that three times fast! Henry Dunay, though, that’s a name you can remember. A good, strong name. Like a rock. Or maybe like a piece of gold.
So there ya have it. What I know ’bout Henry Dunay. Not much, maybe, but it’s somethin’. He was a goldsmith, a jewelry designer, and a fella who knew how to make things look old. And that’s more than I can say for most folks I know. They just get old without even tryin’. Ha! Just kidding, of course. Getting old is part of life, ain’t it? Just like makin’ jewelry, I guess. You start with somethin’ plain, and you work at it, and you scratch it up a bit, and you end up with somethin’ beautiful. Or somethin’ valuable, at least. And that’s the story of Henry Dunay, as far as I know it.
