Henry Dankner
Henry founded his namesake Dankner in Budapest, Hungary in the 1930's. The business grew until the Nazi's took control of Budapest forcing the Dankner family to flee Hungary in 1944 after they seized everything of value from the workshop. The prewar items were most likely melted for their materials. After arriving the in the United States Henry re-established his company in the 1950's and began focusing on charm manufacturing often working very long hours to build the business from scratch. The company began to grow and by the 1960's they had grown tremendously employing over 27 people. Charm manufacturing continued to prosper through the 1980s and the stamp on his pieces would say Dankner or had a D with a wreath. The later pieces were also distributed by major jewelry houses like Cartier, Harry Winston, and Van Cleef & Arpels. Robert Dankner and his brother George took over the company when their father passed and continued to run the company from their longtime space at 71 West 47th Street. After six decades of manufacture the company closed its doors and donated its paperwork, molds, and other items to the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York.
