Feelers: anybody collect Henry Dunay?

[Circe]

My parents, bless their hearts, gave me some lovely Henry Dunay brooches when I was in high school - a punky little Gothy kid who was likelier to stick a pin through her ear than her lapel - and though I've certainly become more refined with the passage of the years, I still just don't wear brooches. They're charming and beautifully crafted - a silver and gold elephant, a heavy gold lion cub, that sort of thing. They're just living out their lives in captivity, trapped in my safety deposit box.

I'm trying to decide if it's worth listing these myself, or if they're the sort of thing I should consign to reach a broader audience ....

 

[heididdl]

You could certainly list them yourself either on ebay or a sight such as Ruby lane or Etsy. Vintage brooches are funny in that one designer might sell very quickly Miriam Haskell, Eisenberg brothers to name two and others might be slower. In doing a little digging on Henry dunay there are pieces being sold from gold earrings $700 to brooches $1,000. It seems that the market wishes that they would be selling in the thousands of dollars but the reality is that they are selling slowly. That doesn't mean you shouldn't try.

Here is a gold elephant asking $1,000 (their sale price) with no bids on ebay he waas listed several times

http://www.ebay.com/itm/HENRY-DUNAY-Rare-Vintage-Signature-ELEPHANT-BROOCH-18K-Gold-750-Sterling-/271209437466?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f2557991a

 

[maccers]

They're charming and beautifully crafted - a silver and gold elephant, a heavy gold lion cub, that sort of thing. They're just living out their lives in captivity, trapped in my safety deposit box.

Sounds like you're running a zoo!

Probably not my style but I'd love to see pictures, I'm sure they're beautiful.

 

[Circe]

Heidi - What an informative post, thank you! That's pretty much on a par with what I figured - I think brooches in general are less popular than they used to be, so pieces tend to languish until a collector comes along. I suppose I have nothing to lose by listing them ... perhaps somebody will come along who desperately desires a full menagerie!

Maccers - or a zoo, indeed! I'll snap some shots one of these days soon, promise.

 

[heididdl]

Actually brooches are being more popular and you might actually be surprised when and if you list them of the reaction. Also gold has dropped slightly on the metal end of the piece. Although it is still today 1388 a troy ounce their weight in gold alone is still up there. I would definetely try Ruby lane and Etsy and wait till ebay has their free listing (I think now) and put a reserve on the price you wish to let them go at so you don't lose out.

Remember you have had them a long time so don't sell them for less then you expect. The perfect buyer will come along. I just sold a alligator and bakalite bag from my grandmother and it took 4 months I put $200 or best offer and I woke up one morning with sweet offer. So you never know good luck

 

[Circe]

They're charming and beautifully crafted - a silver and gold elephant, a heavy gold lion cub, that sort of thing. They're just living out their lives in captivity, trapped in my safety deposit box.

Sounds like you're running a zoo!

Probably not my style but I'd love to see pictures, I'm sure they're beautiful.

Maccers - a quick menagerie shot for you! I'll do a proper photoshoot tomorrow, if the sun cooperates.

Actually brooches are being more popular and you might actually be surprised when and if you list them of the reaction. Also gold has dropped slightly on the metal end of the piece. Although it is still today 1388 a troy ounce their weight in gold alone is still up there. I would definetely try Ruby lane and Etsy and wait till ebay has their free listing (I think now) and put a reserve on the price you wish to let them go at so you don't lose out.

Remember you have had them a long time so don't sell them for less then you expect. The perfect buyer will come along. I just sold a alligator and bakalite bag from my grandmother and it took 4 months I put $200 or best offer and I woke up one morning with sweet offer. So you never know good luck

Heidi, I wish *I* had seen that bag, as it sounds amazing! And I think your strategy was quite right ... I'm not in a big hurry to sell them, I'm wondering if this is the right time as Mr. Dunay is starting a new line, and, and, and ... but if some collector comes along and feels THIS is what's been needed to fill the gap in their collection, hey, great! (I say this as someone with a lot of weird collections who, yes, will periodically feel that she MUST have the tapered baguette paste shoe buckle with the *blue* enamel, or the universe will be off-kilter.) I also hope you're right about the brooches, and that the rest of the accessories of yesteryear aren't far behind ... I might not wear the brooches, but I'd love it if the hairpins and the hats and the cocktail rings came back in spades!

 

[maccers]

Circe - Those are simply fabulous! The craftsmanship looks amazing. Ohhh I'd have a hard time selling those but if you're not wearing them then I'm sure you'll find someone who will!

 

[JewelFreak]

Circe, Henry Dunay was one of the great jewelry houses. He has won about every award given for magnificent jewelry. He opened his own business in 1967 & has made jewelry for the r & f (rich & famous) since the beginning. Designs range from very modern to gorgeously traditional; his pieces all have an organic feel coupled with his individual style. The beginning of the financial meltdown must have caught him overextended; he went belly up in 2009. I remember reading about the sale of his $50 million worth of pieces in stock & being sad.

Example of his highest top stuff:

Eliz. Taylor's mask for the Amfar Ball (1st Dibs price $3 mill):


And more modern (a ring 18K):


Prices for his pieces are all over the lot. I think it may depend on who is selling them. The highest prices I found were on 1st Dibs, which is actually a showplace for a number of estate jewelers. This page http://www.1stdibs.com/jewelry/brooches/?creator=henry-dunay has Dunay brooches -- can't hurt to send photos to some of these sellers & see what they'd offer (or give you on consignment). See if it's worth dealing with them rather than selling, yourself.

This brooch is listed there for $2500 -- yours are far more appealing.


Having Dunay anything is, to me, a big joy. But I understand why you don't want them hanging out if they can find a loving home. Brooches are coming back, but these are special types -- there's a buyer for everything, & somebody would be delighted to find yours.

--- Laurie

P.S. I'm sure especially the lion would go quickly -- is it 18K? He usually didn't work in 14K. Collectors would go for any of them, though.

 

[VapidLapid]

wow
those are fantastic

 

[Circe]

Circe, Henry Dunay was one of the great jewelry houses. He has won about every award given for magnificent jewelry. He opened his own business in 1967 & has made jewelry for the r & f (rich & famous) since the beginning. Designs range from very modern to gorgeously traditional; his pieces all have an organic feel coupled with his individual style. The beginning of the financial meltdown must have caught him overextended; he went belly up in 2009. I remember reading about the sale of his $50 million worth of pieces in stock & being sad.

Example of his highest top stuff:

Eliz. Taylor's mask for the Amfar Ball (1st Dibs price $3 mill):


And more modern (a ring 18K):


Prices for his pieces are all over the lot. I think it may depend on who is selling them. The highest prices I found were on 1st Dibs, which is actually a showplace for a number of estate jewelers. This page http://www.1stdibs.com/jewelry/brooches/?creator=henry-dunay has Dunay brooches -- can't hurt to send photos to some of these sellers & see what they'd offer (or give you on consignment). See if it's worth dealing with them rather than selling, yourself.

This brooch is listed there for $2500 -- yours are far more appealing.


Having Dunay anything is, to me, a big joy. But I understand why you don't want them hanging out if they can find a loving home. Brooches are coming back, but these are special types -- there's a buyer for everything, & somebody would be delighted to find yours.

--- Laurie

P.S. I'm sure especially the lion would go quickly -- is it 18K? He usually didn't work in 14K. Collectors would go for any of them, though.

Laurie, what a wonderful overview - and selection of images! - of his career. I actually had the pleasure of visiting his workshop when I was a kid (and once, when I had a goofy summer job as a dogsbody at a 5th Ave. shop, of acting as a "courier" to bring some of his creations over for a photo-shoot ... me with the gems in my unassuming 17-year-old pocket, and the two burly men assigned to follow me the whole block-and-a-half to the location, just in case somebody made the connection and tried to jump me). So I'm a HUGE admirer of his ... which makes it doubly sad that the brooches are living out their lives in captivity! One of my favorites was the ring he made for the Clintonian inauguration ... the rough yellow diamond? YUM.

The lion is indeed 18k, and HEAVY - my scale claims 12 grams. He's my favorite of the lot. I'll definitely contact a few vendors and see what my options might be ... these fall squarely into that class of "I'm not heartbroken to keep them," but it just seems so foolish to do so the way I have been if there's a way of transmuting them into something that would be functional (and let THEM get some love, too!).

P.S. - Laurie, have you seen the coffee-table book that came out on him a few years ago? AMAZING shots ....

P.P.S. - Maccers, Vapid, thank you! Dunay's workmanship definitely doesn't suffer under high-resolution photography, that's for sure ....

 

[minousbijoux]

Incredibly educational thread. Thank you all so much. Circe - pretty amazing to hear "how you spent you summer vacation" when you were young!

 

[VapidLapid]

http://www.jewelsdujour.com/2013/06/doyle-new-york-fine-jewelry-june-20th-2013/

 

[JewelFreak]

Yow, what a neat summer, Circe! I'd do the same right now -- for free -- if anybody would let me, all middle-aged as I am. Was his workshop fabulous to see? I truly envy you a dad who was such a gem mentor, too -- he added a special dimension to your life that you could soak up while young & go with from there. I loved my own father dearly, but he didn't know a sapphire from a chunk of coal, a sad failing on his part.

I don't think you'll get the right audience for Dunay from eBay or DB -- you need more knowledgeable buyers, and collectors. I understand just how you feel about keeping them and selling them.

Thanks for the heads-up on the book -- haven't seen it but will look for it now. I'd love to have one of his pieces (dream), but the Holy Grail of my life would be an Oscar Heyman piece -- I'd know I'd gone straight to heaven.

I want to know what you find out about selling them -- please report details!

--- Laurie

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

I adore Dunay. I notice that every estate seller has a selection of these pieces--why doesn't you try Oakgem, Betterridge, Dover...etc..?

cheers--Sharon

 

[Circe]

Incredibly educational thread. Thank you all so much. Circe - pretty amazing to hear "how you spent you summer vacation" when you were young!

It was a really cool way to grow up. Most of what I know about colored stones, I credit to my dad and my adolescent rebelliousness ... gems were basically the ONLY thing we could speak civilly about for a few years, so on his end, my dad would usually leave a couple of specimens on my mom's piano bench for me to find in the mornings (he worked ridiculous hours, so he'd be home long after I was in bed, and I'd be off to school before he was up), and then on his day off, we'd debate their merits. On my end, I studied my ass off so as to impress him! Paid off a few times in terms of my advising him on stuff.

http://www.jewelsdujour.com/2013/06/doyle-new-york-fine-jewelry-june-20th-2013/

Oh, very cool - thank you! I LOVE THAT BLOG!

Yow, what a neat summer, Circe! I'd do the same right now -- for free -- if anybody would let me, all middle-aged as I am. Was his workshop fabulous to see? I truly envy you a dad who was such a gem mentor, too -- he added a special dimension to your life that you could soak up while young & go with from there. I loved my own father dearly, but he didn't know a sapphire from a chunk of coal, a sad failing on his part.

I don't think you'll get the right audience for Dunay from eBay or DB -- you need more knowledgeable buyers, and collectors. I understand just how you feel about keeping them and selling them.

Thanks for the heads-up on the book -- haven't seen it but will look for it now. I'd love to have one of his pieces (dream), but the Holy Grail of my life would be an Oscar Heyman piece -- I'd know I'd gone straight to heaven.

I want to know what you find out about selling them -- please report details!

--- Laurie

It was amazing. It was a big suite of rooms with an enormous vault full of treasure - and I remember his wife wearing the most AMAZING stack of bands, what seemed like a dozen of them. Probably one of the things that sparked my own addiction to stacking my rings!

I'm going to try sending the photos I took to a number of places to see what they say ... and though I may be an incredibly slow correspondent, yes, will definitely report back!

HI:

I adore Dunay. I notice that every estate seller has a selection of these pieces--why doesn't you try Oakgem, Betterridge, Dover...etc..?

cheers--Sharon

Oooo, thanks, Sharon! The more options, the better - thanks for suggesting those guys.