The winners of the inaugural Make Your Mark Awards were announced at a glittering Reception at Goldsmiths’ Hall on Tuesday 1st November.  The competition aimed to challenge students working in precious metal, with prizes awarded for the best design of a precious metal piece incorporating a UK hallmark within the design.

Make Your Mark is the UK’s biggest careers event for apprentices and students of jewellery and allied trades. 

Dr Robert Organ, Deputy Warden of the Goldsmiths’ Company Assay Office, commented: “This is the first time that we have run the Make Your Mark Awards and I was delighted that we had such a large number of entries demonstrating a wide range of creativity and approaches to tackling the brief.”  

Grant Macdonald who spoke on behalf of the Judging Panel: “It has been a difficult task for us to come to a unanimous decision on tonight's winners. We were all very impressed by the quality, ingenuity and the thought process that has gone into these entries. The Awards were about incorporating a series of small punch marks that we normally hide inside or underneath a piece, making them part of the design, out in the open, and looking good. Well you did it.”

Prizes were donated by Stephen Webster, Stewart Hersey, Richard Fox, Just Castings, Retail Jeweller, Argentium Silver International, Cooksongold, HS Walsh, and, of course, the Goldsmiths’ Company Assay Office.  Trophies were produced and engraved by Creative Awards.

Grant Macdonald: “The hallmark is a way for us as Silversmiths and Jewellers to sign our work, just like an artist signing off a portrait. Use it or Lose it! You are its future. We should all work to promote hallmarking and that in part, means finding ways of getting people to look out for hallmarks. This competition has really done that.”

Jewellery Category Winner

Roxanne Gilbert was announced winner for her silver Five Facets Ring. The Full Traditional Hallmark features prominently on the flattened surfaces of the ring’s rounded clusters. As such, the piece is an exemplary expression of the creative use of the hallmark - making it an integral part of the design.

Roxanne’s prize:

• Mentoring and an opportunity to visit Just Castings to shadow their talented team.
• Just Castings will also be working with Roxanne to make the winning piece in 18ct yellow gold (up to the value of £500).
• A mentorship with Ruth Faulkner, Editor of Retail Jeweller
• £350 from the Goldsmiths’ Company Assay Office, hallmarking registration, punch and £100 hallmarking credit, plus an exclusive tour of the Assay Office with Dave Merry

Excited about her win, Roxanne commented:  “Thanks so much for my award! I absolutely love it! It's a real incentive having these kinds of competitions to work towards - especially for someone like me who hasn't been able to complete a degree as there aren't so many opportunities available. I found the whole event really helpful and made some brilliant contacts.  I'm really excited about making it in gold!””

Leo Onofriou from Just Castings was on the Judging Panel: “I was delighted to be invited to be on the Make Your Mark Awards Judging Panel. Roxanne met all the criteria and deserved to win the Jewellery Category. We are looking forward to producing her winning piece in 18ct yellow gold.”

Roxanne Gilbert winner Jewellery Category with Richard Fox

Five Facets Ring, Roxanne Gilbert

Silversmithing Category Winner

Annabel  Hood was announced winner for her beaker design London’s Leopard. While her sketches of a beaker are a celebration of the act of hallmarking itself, her intent was to honour the London Leopard, making it the main focus of the piece alongside the hallmarks.

Her sketches represent a hand raised silver beaker, gilded in the interior. On the front, an oversized leopard’s head is accompanied by the standard mark above it. A larger scale leopard print pattern adorns the inside of beaker, reaching the base of the cup. Both elements could potentially be either photo etched or hand engraved. 

The prize:

• A mentorship with Stewart Hersey, which includes use of his workshops and advice on manufacturing her winning design. Stewart’s workshop will spin the beaker and work with Annabel to achieve her finished piece.
• A mentorship with Richard Fox and a guided tour of the Fox Silver Workshop with exclusive insight into a design and manufacturing facility.
• £125 Argentium Silver to make the piece
• £350 from the Goldsmiths’ Company Assay Office, hallmarking registration, punch and £100 hallmarking credit, plus an exclusive tour of the Assay Office with Dave Merry

Annabel commented on her win: “I’m utterly stunned to have won the Award and really looking forward to the opportunities it is going to bring. I’m also really looking forward to making the piece.”

Judge, Stewart Hersey, who will be arranging for his workshop to spin the beaker, commented: “I was very impressed with Annabel’s ‘London’s Leopard’ beaker, which stood out amongst the Silversmithing entries. Annabel had thought about the use of the hallmark and has applied it to a simple but strong design. I am looking forward to helping Annabel get it made in the New Year.”

Annabel's design entry

Annabel Hood winner Silversmithing Category with Richard Fox accepting her trophy

Joint Second Prize

Kate Hainge for her design, ‘Magnifying Ring’

Yanmi Lui for her design, ‘The Simplicity of Braille’

Kate Hainge’s design for a ‘Magnifying Ring’ was also praised by the judges for its creativity and she was awarded a mentorship with Stephen Webster and £125 of Argentium Silver to make her piece. Judge, Elizabeth Hunt from Argentium Silver International said: “We are delighted to be able to support the two talented students selected to receive their choice of Argentium silver material. We were very impressed by the diversity of designs present and look forward to seeing the competition grow over the coming years.” 

The Judges were excited about the creative potential of Joint Second Prize winner, Yanmi Lui’s design concept, ‘The Simplicity of Braille’, which proposed adding a braille version of the Millesimal Fineness mark to a hallmarked item, and awarded her a mentorship with Richard Fox and £125 voucher from Cooksongold. 

“We all agreed that although the proposed size of the braille mark inside a ring shank was too small, the idea of using braille in a more tactile piece such as flatware could be worth developing,” explains Grant Macdonald. “This does not necessarily mean just braille lettering down a table fork, it’s more about the idea of incorporating braille into patterns that could be discovered by the user - ensuring that the visually impaired experience heightened enjoyment of the wonderful tactility of silver.”

Commended

Max Danger for ‘The Robot and the Unlucky Stone’

Rebecca Doe for her design, ‘Marked’

Adriana Klimentjevaite for her design, ‘The Leopard’s Brooch’

Looking forward to 2017, Dr Organ commented “We hope to build on this next year and will be particularly keen to see more entrants from Silversmiths who were not quite as well represented as Jewellery designers.”  One of the most interesting things we found was that the Hereford College of Art incorporated the competition into its curriculum as a Live Project for its students, two of whom won prizes,” he continued. “This was an unexpected, but very welcome and novel approach, which we would encourage in future years. I am very proud of all of our staff, judges, prize sponsors and speakers who took part and contributed to making the inaugural Make Your Mark Awards such a huge success.”