Goldsmiths’ Fair partners with The Betts Group to support emerging British Businesses with X-ray silver
The Betts Group, which has provided quality and service from the heart of Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter for more than 260 years, has partnered with Goldsmiths’ Fair, supporting the recipients of its 2025 Emerging Business Bursary programme with a gift of four kilograms of AgAIN silver bullion, which is made from silver reclaimed from medical X-ray films.
The first scalable product of its type, AgAIN Silver is refined from the tonnes of medical X-ray film processed by The Betts Metals every week. Two to five grams of silver are found in every kilogram of X-ray film.
Goldsmiths’ Fair has been the place to see, try, and buy the UKs best independently made contemporary fine jewellery and silver, and meet the craftspeople who design and make it since 1983. One of the Goldsmiths’ Company’s key initiatives in support of the trade and craft, the Fair generates approximately £3million a year in revenue for the small British businesses that exhibit.
The Emerging Business Bursary (EBB), launched in 2024, reimagines the Fair’s longstanding support for early career makers in recognition of the different routes that lead craftspeople into the trade, with no restrictions based on formal education or age.
Speaking about the partnership with The Betts Group, Harriet Scott, Head of Goldsmiths’ Fair said:
“Goldsmiths’ Fair has proudly supported early career makers through bursary schemes since the year 2000. Whilst establishing yourself as an independent craftsperson - which requires you to be both a talented artist and an astute businessperson - has never been easy, over the last 25 years the rising costs of equipment, energy, materials, rates and rents, combined with record high prices for precious metals, have made it more challenging than ever before.
Through this partnership with The Betts Group, and their generous gift of four kilograms of AgAIN silver bullion, the 10 recipients our 2025 Emerging Business Bursary are receiving a comprehensive package of support that will help them to have the first of many fantastic years exhibiting at Goldsmiths’ Fair.”
Thanks to the generous support of The Betts Group, who offer a diversified range of products and services associated with precious metals, the 10 recipients of the 2025 Emerging Business Bursary will each receive a gift of 400 grams of AgAIN silver bullion, made from reclaimed medical x-ray films, along with a 15% discount on tools.
AgAIN silver is named to represent its symbol on the periodic table. The Betts Group recycles all elements of the X-ray film, extracting the silver via a specialised chemical process at its facility in Kidderminster. The extracted silver is then smelted and refined separately from all other metals at the Betts Metals factory in Buxton.
Speaking about the partnership with Goldsmiths’ Fair, Charlie Betts, Managing Director of The Betts Group Said:
“We’re thrilled to partner with Goldsmiths’ Fair in support of early career makers through the 2025 Emerging Business Bursary. The future of our trade relies on transparency and sustainability, and the 400grams of AgAIN silver bullion that each of the bursary recipients will receive sets them on a course to make positive choices about their practice and its impact on the environment.”
This exciting addition to the EBB compliments a package that includes:
A stand at Goldsmiths’ Fair worth £1,100
A £1500 grant to help cover materials, display props, travel and accommodation during the Fair
A series of professional training sessions from the Goldsmiths' Centre on topics including building sales confidence, brand guidance and social media use
The opportunity to take out an interest free bullion loan from the Goldsmiths’ Company, to purchase up to £3,000 in additional precious metals from Betts.
Competition for the 2025 EBB was tough, with more than 90 craftspeople who have all started their jewellery or silversmithing business within the last six years, applying for just 10 spaces. Applicants for the EBB, along with those makers applying as regular exhibitors, were put through a rigorous vetting and selection process by a panel of specialists from within the industry.
After much deliberation by the panel, the 2025 Emerging Business Bursaries have been awarded to Monica Findlay, Lucy Anderson, Isabella Bedlington , Wenyin Jiang, Liu Yang, Alice Biolo, Emma Lawrence, Francisca Onumah, Alewijn Slingerland and Gillian Finlay.
Silversmith Monica Findlay, who is one of 10 recipients of the 2025 Emerging Business Bursary
Speaking about her place on the 2025 EBB, Silversmith Monica Findlay said:
“I am over the moon to have received the Goldsmiths’ Fair Emerging Business Bursary and to be preparing for the next big step for my business with the support of the Goldsmiths’ team. Working with precious metals can prove to be quite financially stressful, and the gift of 400g of AgAIN silver from The Betts Group and the opportunity to take out an interest free bullion loan from the Company has helped to drastically reduce that stress.
Getting into Goldsmiths’ Fair is a huge achievement, which I’m planning to celebrate by creating a new piece from the AgAIN silver. My practice largely explores material narratives and the value of objects beyond their raw material, so I’m excited to work with this reclaimed silver, which is not only sustainable but has such an interesting past life!”
Joanna Hardy, who serves as a Warden (executive board member) for the Goldsmiths’ Company and regularly appears on the BBC Antiques Roadshow in her capacity as a jewellery specialist and gemmologist said:
“The standard of applications for Goldsmiths’ Fair is always incredibly high and the job of those on the selection panel is in equal measure a joy and a challenge. The Fair is a fantastic opportunity to meet talented craftspeople and see, try, and perhaps buy their work, and I am very much looking forward to seeing what the recipients of the Emerging Business Bursary create with their AgAIN silver.”
Goldsmiths’ Fair 2025 is open daily from 23-28 September and 30 September-5 October at Goldsmiths’ Hall in the City of London. Tickets are priced at £25 for single day entry, or £30 for run of show. You can save £5 on all full priced tickets until 31 July 2025 at www.goldsmithsfair.co.uk