Goldsmiths' Craftsmanship and Design Awards 2026 Honours Winners at London Ceremony

Janet Barber's 'Downy Feather Brooch' dominated the 2026 Goldsmiths' Craftsmanship and Design Awards, claiming the prestigious Goldsmiths' Company Award alongside three Gold wins at a ceremony that drew more than 300 guests to Merchant Taylors' Hall in London on 9 March.

The Goldsmiths' Company Award, reserved only for work that achieves the highest standard of design and originality, does not go out every year. That the brooch earned it was remarkable enough, but Barber's piece also swept the Gold and Freeform Fabrication Award for Laser Technology, Gold and the Brown and Newirth Award for Jewellers Craft, and Gold and the Gold and Silver Wyre Drawers Award for Wire Innovation. Judges cited both "technical excellence and exceptional design" in their assessment.

The scale of the competition behind those wins is worth noting. The 2026 awards comprised 46 categories spanning 2D design and 3D craft and design, with 837 entries submitted in total. From that field, 67 Gold awards were distributed across three Premier Awards, three Major Awards, 30 Patron Awards, and four Bursaires. Sixty patrons and sponsors supported the competition, and the ceremony's YouTube live stream drew an audience of 1.9k on the night.

John Ball, chair of the Goldsmiths' Craft and Design Council, opened proceedings with a remark that acknowledged both the industry's vitality and its pressures: "The volume and quality of entries are reassuring reflections of the staggering amount of creativity and energy we continue to have in the industry, particularly given the tough year we have all faced with rising materials prices." Council vice-chair Judith Lockwood hosted the evening and announced the winners.

Among the other major accolades, silversmith Clive Burr received the Lifetime Achievement Award, sponsored by Thomas Fattorini Ltd, in recognition of more than 30 years producing exclusive ranges and prestigious commissions for clients including the late Queen Elizabeth II, the late Queen Mother, the Sultan of Brunei, and No. 10 Downing Street. The College Trophy, presented by special patrons The Betts Group, went to Glasgow School of Art, where course leader Anna Gordon collected it on the institution's behalf.

Gem-A, a long-standing patron of the awards, presented two silver-level prizes of its own. Liu Yang received a Gem-A Award for the 'Artefacta Ring' and Xiaoyu Li for 'Vessel'; both will take a place on the Gemmology Foundation course via online distance learning as part of their prize. The awards were open to entrants whose submissions incorporated gemstones, with candidates required to submit statements on how the course would advance their professional practice. Gem-A noted it was "thoroughly impressed" with both responses.

The breadth of technically refined, bespoke, and hand-finished work on display pointed to an industry that, despite rising materials costs, continues to produce goldsmithing and silversmithing of considerable ambition.