PRESS RELEASE: Craftsman with 50 years’ experience named Precious Metalworker of the Year

Heritage Crafts was set up 15 years ago as a national charity to support and safeguard heritage craft skills, and has become well known for its Red List of Endangered Crafts, the first research of its kind to rank traditional crafts in the UK by the likelihood they will survive the next generation.

The award, supported by The Royal Mint, celebrates a heritage craftsperson who has made an outstanding contribution to working with precious metals over the past year. It recognises a contribution that is far beyond the ordinary, based on a proven dedication to a particular metalworking skill.

In a career spanning over 50 years, Stephen M Goldsmith has polished almost every piece of high-end silverware you can imagine, including the Premier League trophy and the Americas Cup. In the past 12 months, he was commissioned to assist in the manufacture of the new Order of the Royal Family.

Winner, Stephen M Goldsmith, said: "Winning this award is an enormous honour, and to be recognised by The Royal Mint feels incredibly special. I've spent over fifty years preserving and polishing the nation's most precious pieces, often quietly behind the scenes, so to have my craft acknowledged in this way is both humbling and deeply rewarding.

"Awards like these shine a light on heritage crafts that might otherwise go unnoticed, giving craftspeople recognition and encouragement. They’re a reminder that these skills still have a vital place in modern society and help to safeguard the future of these traditions.

"This award gives me a wider platform to champion the craft of polishing and opens doors for teaching and inspiring new apprentices, supporting my ongoing mission to pass on the knowledge I've gained from a lifetime working with precious metal. I always wanted to meet a precious metal polisher with 50 years' experience – and now I have become that craftsman!"

Stephen is one of a dwindling number of craftspeople specialising in a trade that was this year added to the Heritage Crafts’ Red List of Endangered Crafts under the umbrella category of ‘silver allied trades’. Where once industrial centres like Birmingham and Sheffield hosted a closely-knit network of interdependent specialists, the loss of such networks makes it increasingly difficult for the remaining practitioners to operate. 

The Precious Metalworker of the Year trophy presented to Stephen was made by the fantastic team of coin designers and craftspeople at The Royal Mint. The piece is intended to take viewers on a journey of metalwork from its molten stage, through hammering, planishing, repoussé, chasing, and finally through to texture and engraving.

The judging panel for this year’s award was made up of Dan Thomas (King’s Assay Master at The Royal Mint), Gordon Summers (Chief Engraver at The Royal Mint), Rauni Higson MBE (silversmith), and last year’s winner, silver spinner Warren Martin.

Dan Thomas, King’s Assay Master at The Royal Mint, said: “"We're immensely proud to support this award and to congratulate Stephen on this well-deserved recognition. I'd also like to recognise our other outstanding finalists, Angela and Alice, whose work exemplifies the highest standards of precious metalworking.

“The Royal Mint has a rich history spanning over a thousand years of working with precious metals, and we're passionate about championing traditional skills and the talented craftspeople who keep them alive. Stephen's dedication to his craft over five decades is truly inspiring."

The two other finalists for the award were Angela Cork, a silversmith and Principal of Bishopsland Educational Trust, whose work is held in prominent collections around the world, and Alice Fry, a silversmith who specialises in the traditional techniques of chasing and repoussé to create rock textures and crystal shapes in silver and anodised niobium.

The Royal Mint is Britain’s oldest maker, with a heritage of crafting precious metals dating back to 886AD. Today it is helping to revive the art of British jewellery making at its site in South Wales through its jewellery brand, 886 by The Royal Mint.

The Royal Mint and Heritage Crafts launched their partnership at the beginning of 2023.  Since then, they have awarded 13 training bursaries to early-career practitioners wanting to develop their skills in precious metals. As an exemplar of British craftsmanship, The Royal Mint is committed to protecting and celebrating craftspeople and developing skills wherever possible. 

Image Credits: Royal Mint