London Assay Office challenges designers to Make their Mark at the 2025 GC&DC Awards
For the 2025 Goldsmiths’ Craft and Design Council (GC&DC) Awards, The London Assay Office is challenging entrants to submit a 2D design for a sterling silver (925) spoon which proudly bears the London Hallmark, and can be used as a personal, practical and portable piece of cutlery for every meal “from porridge to pudding”.
The brief is inspired by one of the earliest items in the Goldsmiths’ Company Collection to bear the London Hallmark, a silver spoon produced around 1425. At that time in England, a single silver spoon would have been a much-treasured possession that its owner would have carried on their person and used as a principal tool for eating along with a knife and their bare hands. They were made and sold by silversmiths in nearly every market town, yet silver was an expensive material, so the spoon may have been the only item of silver that its owner possessed. Records show that they were gifted at christenings, passed down in wills, and given as gifts – they were important items, uniquely personal to their owner, and used for every meal, from porridge to pudding.
Designs should re-imagine a single silver spoon for the modern world as a beautiful, personal, portable and precious “tool” that can be used every day, for every meal. It must be practical, comfortable to hold, and proudly display the full UK hallmark, as applied by the London Assay Office, in a position and size that is complimentary to the design.
The spoon has a place at the table of nearly every society on the planet, and entrants are encouraged to incorporate elements of their heritage and culture into the design.
Your submission must:
Include a series of four scaled drawings with measurements that show your design in profile from the top, bottom, side and end. They should include placement of the Hallmark. Designs can be created by hand or using CAD.
Include a 250 - 500 word description that explains your inspiration, and the concept development of your design.
Show consideration for the size, location, and configuration of the hallmark and its five component marks.
Be practical and take into account that this is an object designed to be held in the hand and put to use every day.
How to Enter
Read the 2025 GC&DC London Assay Office competition brief in full.
Check the entry rules to make sure you are eligible to enter.
Complete the 2025 GC&DC Competition Entry Form online by 14 January 2025 and post or drop off your entry at The Goldsmiths’ Centre between the 14 and 16 January 2025.
About the Goldsmiths' Craft and Design Council (GC&DC)
The Goldsmiths’ Craft and Design Council (GC&DC) is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO), run as a social not for profit enterprise, where all funds are used in the promotion of craftsmanship and design within the industry. Founded in 1908, the Council’s remit is to:
“...encourage, stimulate and promote the pursuit of excellence in craftsmanship and design amongst all those in the United Kingdom who work within silversmithing, goldsmithing, jewellery and the allied crafts.”
It is governed by a Council of 21 trade based experts from which a Chairperson and Vice Chairperson are chosen. Council members are recruited through a process of nomination and democratic election, giving their time freely and generously in order to maintain and enhance the Council's work.
The Goldsmiths’ Company and The Goldsmiths’ Company Charity are proud to support the Goldsmiths’ Craft and Design Council (GC&DC).