"Henry Dunay: A Precious Life" is both a lavish album of Dunay's finest designs and a biography that tells the amazing story of his rise from an immigrant family to the heights of the jewellery world. A contemporary American jeweller, Henry Dunay single-handedly built a business to fit the luxurious mould of the great jewellery houses of all time: Faberge, Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels. This is a world where superb craftsmen master arcane knowledge of precious and semiprecious stones, where jewellers compete for newly discovered gemstones and where glamorous women vie to own one-of-a-kind pieces. What separates Dunay from the rest, however, is his ability to design and create fabulous jewels with his own hands. Dunay's innovative one-of-a-kind and limited edition creations have broken long tradition in the world of fine jewellery, introducing new ideas of form and texture and exploring non-western design concepts.Meanwhile, Dunay has reached a wide audience of women with his themed collections of earrings, necklaces, bracelets and rings.The book includes a biographical essay by Penny Proddow and Marion Fasel, an essay on Dunay's use of colour stones by mineralogist George Harlow and an essay on Dunay's society and celebrity clientele by journalist Jeryl Brunner.