Fourteen entries were received for the annual Silver Society Silversmithing Prize this year, which was judged by the eminent Silversmith Ray Walton and Curator Emma Paragreen. The entries included a broad range of functional and sculptural work of a high calibre from all over the UK. The winner this year was Katie Watson with her outstanding, hand-formed ‘Spring Hare’ sterling silver dish. Katie wins £1000 and ECSG membership. Katie is currently based at Marchmont in the Scottish Borders, where she found inspiration for the piece among the grassy hills and in the abundance of hares running about in the fields. The judges were particularly impressed with the beautiful and detailed chasing, the lovely representation of animals and landscape, the proportions, and the craftsmanship that she demonstrated with her silver and gemstone dish decorated with 24ct Keum Boo foil. They also noted the subtle placement of the hallmarks and applauded her dedication to the process and the development of her technique since winning runnner-up in [Read More]

Entries are now closed for The Silver Society Prize for Silversmithing 2023. The competition will be judged by an expert panel and the winner will be announced on Monday 30 October 2023 at the Goldsmiths’ Centre in London when they will receive a cash prize of £1,000. The winning piece and a profile of its maker will be included in the 2023 Silver Society Journal.   Image: Scream box by Caiyang Yin, winner of the Silver Society Prize 2022

Silver Society Prize THE SILVER SOCIETY PRIZE  FOR SILVERSMITHING 2022   WE ARE VERY PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THAT THE WINNER IS CAIYANG YIN for his SCREAM BOX The Scream Box, made in fine silver and sterling silver and marked for 2022, is the first piece of silverware, as opposed to jewellery, that Caiyang has made. The cover of the handmade box involved chasing and repoussé work.   The judges said: we were very impressed with Caiyang’s silver Scream Box, it is a very contemporary design and it has great originality. The square silver box decorated with a man’s emotional face, has a highly sculptural aesthetic and demonstrates a unique style.  To make a square box is one of the most basic silversmithing skills, but it is challenging to achieve, requiring great accuracy and control. Caiyang’s box is very professionally made and extremely well finished.  The box can be seen in this video https://youtu.be/vxPH8faCj0Q and other examples of Caiyang’s work can be seen on his website [Read More]

In 2021 we were, once again required, to run the Silver Society Prize for Silversmithing virtually and it has been decided that we will continue to use this method as it enables more craftspeople, including those from overseas, to submit entries.  Once again we had a good number of entrants, whose submissions were of a very high standard, original, very varied and intriguing.  The parameters of the Prize were slightly changed so that, rather than being open only to silversmiths under thirty-five, we could include those who were older than this but still in their first five years of working as a practicing silversmith.  This enabled entrants who have come late to the craft to apply.   Rauni Higson and Clive Burr very kindly agreed to judge the Prize and they settled on Rebecca Oldfield at the winner with her Iris Wall Sconce. They felt she was a worth winner because   Rebecca’s presentation was detailed, clear, and impressively professional.  The research and development that went [Read More]

Initially, because Goldsmiths North 2020 was cancelled due to Covid, the committee of the Silver Society was not sure that it was going to be able to award its annual Silversmithing Prize given to the best young silversmith exhibiting at the show but, after discussion, the decision was made to run the competition virtually.  Entrants were asked to make their submission online either as a video or a portfolio of a specially made, or a pre-existing piece of silver.  We asked that the submission should include images of the piece, a description of its manufacture and the hallmarks as well as design drawings and a commentary on the sources of inspiration.  The award was made at the end of 2020: too late for it to be announced in the Silver Society Journal for that year.   In the end twenty-four entries of a very high standard were submitted and, because the competition was run virtually, we had entries from Europe and the United States as well [Read More]

We are very please to announce the winner is CAIYANG YIN for his Scream Box The Scream Box, made in fine silver and sterling silver and marked for 2022, is the first piece of silverware, as opposed to jewellery, that Caiyang has made. The cover of the handmade box involved chasing and repoussé work. Scream Box by Caiyang Yin The judges said: we were very impressed with Caiyang’s silver Scream Box, it is a very contemporary design and it has great originality. The square silver box decorated with a man’s emotional face, has a highly sculptural aesthetic and demonstrates a unique style. To make a square box is one of the most basic silversmithing skills, but it is challenging to achieve, requiring great accuracy and control. Caiyang’s box is very professionally made and extremely well finished. The box can be seen in this video https://youtu.be/vxPH8faCj0Q and other examples of Caiyang’s work can be seen on his website https://www.ycyjewel.com/ Caiyang, who trained in the design [Read More]

The Silver Society is please to announce the launch of its annual Price for 2022. The Prize of £1000 is awarded to a silversmith who is either aged under 35 or in the first five years of their career as a silversmith. The Competition will be conducted virtually and submissions should be made by email to: editor@thesilversociety.org by 30th September 2022. The submission must a piece of silver, either made specially for the competition or pre-existing, and should comprise of portfolio including images of the piece, a description of its manufacture and its hallmarks, and the make's CV. The submision may also include any other relevant material, such as design drawings, a video, or a commentary on the sources of inspiration. The entrant should be aged 35 or under by 31 December 2022 or have worked as a silversmith for less than five years. The submission may not be a piece of jewellery. The competition will be judged by an expert panel and the [Read More]

We are very pleased to announce that the winner is Rebecca Oldfield for her Iris Wall Sconce. The Iris Wall Sconce was Rebecca’s response to the patterns and structures that she found in microscopic images of the iris of the human eye. In her final piece she has combined the lines and the textures visible in the iris under high magnification. The result is a considered and elegant piece which is both well designed and executed. The judges said that Rebecca’s presentation was detailed, clear, and impressively professional. The research and development that went into her design was evident, with consideration for details like hidden fixings and ease of cleaning. Prototyping the entire piece in gilding metal obviously contributed to the finesse of the ultimate result. They much look forward to seeing how Rebecca’s work develops in the future. Further images of her work can be seen on her website: https://www.rebeccaoldfield.co.uk   Rebecca commented: I am absolutely thrilled to have won the Silver Society Prize for my Iris [Read More]