Birmingham trophy making

Birmingham's trophy-making history

Trophies - Cups

We're aware of the manufacturing of Wimbledon's men's and ladies' singles trophies in 19thcentury Birmingham, but what other trophies were manufactured in Birmingham's gem: The Jewellery Quarter?

Sporting events increased in popularity in the late nineteenth-century and along with that came the awarding of trophies and medals to the sporting events' victors.

Wimbledon Trophies The silver plate Wimbledon trophy was made in a Birmingham based silversmiths named Elkington and Co.

The company had been founded in the 1830s, employing over 2,000 workers at its peak in its factory in Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter.

The trophy's materials are a mixture of silver and silver-gilt (silver coated with gold) and is a copy of a certain French dish known as the Temperentia which is presently being held in the Louvre museum.

The dish portrays the four elements, encircled by the seven arts - astrology, geometry, arithmetic, music, rhetoric, dialectic and grammar.

Despite the successful glory days, silverware eventually went out of fashion in the 20th Century and the firm's fortunes went downhill.

New tenants took over in the early 60s and its factory in the Quarter closed down and was later demolished.

FA Cup When winners of the FA Cup, Aston Villa, somehow managed to lose it in 1895, Birmingham city's trophymaking expertise was looked to for a second time.

The trophy had been stolen from its display, and a replica was requested by the Jewellery Quarter based P Vaughton and Sons.

As luck would have it, the business had taken a plaster cast of the original for the purpose of making a miniature version.

That particular FA Cup remained in service until 1910, following a replacement from a trophy made in Bradford.

Although Vaughton's does make medals for the Football League at its new base in the Jewellery Quarter.

Premier League Medals Vaughton and Sons also make an appearance under the Premier League Medals, as they have been making the winner's medals for roughly twenty years.

The medals are made of silver and then proceed to be gold-plated with the famous lion motif.

Olympic Torch The Olympic Torch from the 1948 London Olympics was crafted in Birmingham.

Designer Bernard Cuzner collaborated with Stanley Morris to produce the torch which is stationed in London's Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths.

Bearing in mind, in those days technology to cut and laser the current trophies did not exist, so the oak leaves, acorns and rose briars and crowned leopards heads handcrafted on the torch in 1948 are stunning.

Lonsdale Belts Thomas Fattorini Ltd are the manufacturers of the Lonsdale champion belts that are awarded the British boxing champs!

The complicated process of the manufacturing was initially introduced in 1909 by the 5th Earl of Lonsdale, Hugh Lowther.

The making of the belt includes die stamping, machined, hand-finished and fired in an oven prior to its polished and plated finish... and then the attachment of the blue, white and red ribbons.

For more information about trophies and our selection, visit our website!

A History of the World Cup Trophy We all love the World Cup, but how was the trophy first produced and why?

The World Cup is possibly one of the most famous trophies available to honour the career of a footballer whom excels for their country, winning the famous competition that graces our screens once every four years. So, just how was the World Cup first made? Find out in our latest blog a history of the World Cup and how the trophies were made.

The World Cup is a gold trophy that’s awarded to the winners of the FIFA World Cup football tournament, an event that’s held every four years in various places around the world. The first World Cup was held in 1930, with the original trophy being named “Victory” (this would later be named the Jules Rimet Trophy in order to honour past FIFA president Jules Rimet, who is responsible for passing a vote to imitate the competition’s existence). The initial trophy was made of gold-plated sterling silver, set on a white/yellow marble base. It stood at 35 centimetres (14 inches) tall, with a weight of 3.8 kilograms (8.4 pounds). The trophy displays a decagonal cup, which is supported by Nike, the accent Greek goddess of Victory.

After the initial trophy was stolen, the second design was made; the design in which we know and love today. Introduced in 1974, the trophy was designed by Italian artist Silvio Gazzaniga, whom won the

commission by FIFA for the production of the trophy. He faced strong competition as a massive fiftythree submissions were received from sculptors in seven countries, all of who desired to be the one who made the brand new World Cup trophy. The current trophy stands are 36.5 centimetres (14.4 inches) tall, whilst being made of 5 kg (11lb) of 18 carat gold. The base contains two different layers of malachite, whilst being 13 centimetres (5.1 inches) in diameter. The trophy itself is actually hollow, as given the trophy was a solid design then it would weigh between 70-80 kg, something that would be way too heavy to lift. The trophy depicts two human figures holding up the Earth, showing the joining of nations who all battle it out of the field every four years for bragging rights to one of the World’s greatest trophies.

The trophy itself is engraved ‘FIFA World Cup’ on its base, with the names of the past winners all being engraved on the underside of the trophies’ base, therefore not being visible when the trophy is in a standing upright position.

Did you like our look into the history of the World Cup?

Please feel free to check out our website for everything to do with sports trophies and sports medals!

5 Facts about the uses of medals and trophies

Here's 5 useful facts about Medals and Trophies

Sports medals and sports trophies, the significant achievement everyone loves to show off, you'll find the owners proudly dedicating a wall of their home to medals and trophies all the time. This may make you roll your eyes but in reality they're quite significant.

If you have ever won a competition and you earn a trophy or

medal the importance knowing that you've achieved something which is appreciated then you won't hesitate to want to show it off either on a wall or on a shelf in your main room. Of course with no further a due i bring you the 5 facts about the uses of medals and trophies.

1. Trophies and Medals are usually made of metals for most competitions, every medal/trophy has its own certain unique features such as the type of metal they're actually made of.. for example Bronze will be used to represent the third posisiton, Silver stands for the second price and of course looking the best and being the most expensive of all will be Gold showcasing first place indicating that the individual is the winner of the competition.

2. Trophies usually have a figure placed on to the prize as well with the name written down on the plaque at the bottom (usually). The figure could be of anything that pertains to the field of competition that you have won.

3. These trophies and medals on your bookshelf, or displayed on the wall would represent something that you are proud of. They stand to represent your talent and your worth and that is why their owners are so affectionate towards them.

4. Trophies and medals are an epitome of celebrating someone’s success but also the opportunities the person had to get in touch with to win. They speak of the hard effort & training that people put into winning something that they really care about.

This is why trophies and medals are not mere toys for us to play with. They speak of something more valuable to any individual.

5. Since these medals and trophies mean so much to you, this is why you take immaculate care of them. A dull looking award will not attract anyone’s attention for long or even at all. This is why you need to keep them clean and shiny at all times.