LAO challenges designers to ‘play with their food’ for 2026 GC&DC Awards
For the 2026 Goldsmiths’ Craft and Design Council (GC&DC) Awards, the London Assay Office (LAO) is challenging creative people of all ages and skill levels to submit a design that can be engraved, chased or photo-etched onto a 25cm diameter sterling silver underplate that encourage diners to engage in conversations, activities, or games that bring fun, mischief and humour to the most formal of dinner tables.
Andrew Marsden’s Sterling Silver Underplate, which forms part of the Silver Trust’s collection
In October 1991, the Silver Trust and The Daily Telegraph held a nationwide competition to design seventy-two individually decorated silver underplates as “perfect conversation pieces for the Prime Minister’s guests” at 10 Downing Street. With no restrictions on theme or subject matter, designs submitted ranged from the sublime to the ridiculous, spanned students, amateurs and professionals, and showcased the diversity of the UK’s creativity, talent, and its (unexpected) passion for plates!
From the 500 entries submitted, the panel of judges selected seventy-two unique designs that were then engraved, chased, or photo-etched onto blank plates spun from stirling silver, before being presented to Prime Minister John Major in 1993.
Designs include tributes to the four nations, celebrations of the natural world, creativity, science and technology, references to astrological charts and ancient illustrations – and even a tribute to a Downing Street Cat! Andrew Marsden’s design, which could be seen as a direct challenge to ‘not playing with your food,’ is uniquely mischievous, playful and filled with humour. Featuring a fully functional maze, the 26.5cm plate encourages diners to ignore dining table etiquette, and navigate a pea through raised silver borders, to an artfully engraved pea pod at the plate’s centre.
Andrew’s design has provided the inspiration for this year’s London Assay Office GC&DC brief, where we are challenging creative people of all ages and skill levels to submit a design that can be engraved, chased or photo-etched onto a 25cm diameter sterling silver underplate that encourage diners to engage in conversations, activities, or games that bring fun, mischief and humour to the most formal of dinner tables.
The Silver Trust’s underplates have sparked conversation, delighted diners, and championed British skill and creativity in the highest office of the land for more than 30 years. In this spirit, the London Assay Office (pending approval) intends to select up to four winning designs to manufactured at its expense. These will be the first pieces hallmarked at the London Assay Office in 2027 and gifted to the Goldsmiths’ Company in celebration of its 700th anniversary.
How to Enter
Read the 2026 GC&DC London Assay Office competition brief in full.
Check the entry rules to make sure you are eligible to enter.
Complete the 2026 GC&DC Competition Entry Form online by 11 January 2026 and post or drop off your entry at The Goldsmiths’ Centre between the 13 and 14 January 2026.
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’ Foundation are proud to support the Goldsmiths’ Craft and Design Council (GC&DC).