Charlotte Metcalf is the Editor of Great British Brands and the co-presenter of Break Out Culture, a weekly podcast with former Minister of Culture, Lord Vaizey. She is also a film-maker, author and journalist. She reports regularly for Thomas Lyte on cultural events, exhibitions, fairs and publications that are of interest to the communities of craftsmen we represent and celebrate, with a particular focus on goldsmiths and silversmiths.
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Thomas Lyte already has a firm reputation as Britain’s leading goldsmiths and silversmiths and a leading light in British manufacturing, with its emphasis on combining new technologies with superb craftsmanship. 2023 saw the brand emerge as a leading influence in the cultural sphere, with its passion for its passionate focus on drawing attention to the evolution of its craft and its proud place in a long, rich history of gold and silversmithing.
The Jubilee Processional Cross, exquisitely crafted by Thomas Lyte in 2022, and presented in person to Her Majesty at Windsor Castle by the Royal Warrant Holders Association and Kevin Baker, was centre stage at Britain’s most important ceremonies during 2023, including Remembrance Day at the Cenotaph. This fully established Thomas Lyte’s role as one of Britain’s most trusted suppliers to the Royal Family.
The brand has forged a strong relationship with the Chapel Royal by collaborating with the Royal Warrant Holders Association to support an organ scholarship. All the scholars and the Chapel’s Director of Music come from the City of London School for Boys and the Scholarship enables the boys to land coveted opportunities playing the organ at great Oxbridge colleges or cathedrals. A Chapel Royal Chorister, representing the Kingdom of God, was the first to address His Majesty at his Coronation, welcoming him in the name of the King of kings. The Choristers also supported the choir at Westminster Abbey. The scholarship aligns perfectly with Thomas Lyte’s values of preserving traditional skills, and the company’s commitment to preserving the future of British art, craft and culture.
On a lighter note, Thomas Lyte also created the nine-carat solid gold labels, embellished with a ruby, for two limited edition bottles of Beefeater Gin, one awarded to the winners of a Crown Jewel Coronation Cocktail competition, the other auctioned for charity.
Craft has increasingly emerged as a major cultural force in 2023, witness the global success of London Craft Week in the spring. It’s been gratifying to see a focus on British making skills being reflected in our culture throughout the year, which is why I’ve been drawing attention to those skills with blogs for this website. Take the summer exhibition Style & Society: Dressing the Georgians at the Queen’s Gallery Palace, a dazzling display of showmanship and a joyous celebration of 18th century silver and goldsmiths’ talents. Or take, Paying Respects: Money and Mortality, an exhibition at Birmingham’s Barber Institute focusing on the role coins play in death rituals. The exhibition highlighted the role that craftsmanship can play in making even something as mundane, transactional, and functional as a coin a force for good in our lives.
Style & Society: Dressing the Georgians at the Queen’s Gallery Palace (image provided courtesy of Royal Collection Trust / © His Majesty King Charles III 2023.)
Currently, there’s an exhibition at Compton Verney History in the Making: Stories of materials and makers, 2000BC to now, with a room dedicated to metalwork that exemplifies the constant creative battle for the techniques of silver and goldsmiths to be better understood and valued. It’s also important to celebrate particularly talented and gifted goldsmiths and silversmiths, like the late Jocelyn Burton, whom I commemorated with a blog about her life and work early this year.
Thomas Lyte’s state-of-the-art workshops have also blown a trumpet for British manufacturing. As Britain’s premier goldsmiths and silversmiths, I have been delighted to welcome Thomas Lyte aboard Great British Brands and to include a feature on the brand in our annual publication, which I edit.
The UK might struggle to be perceived on the global stage as having aspirational brands like Hermès, Dior or Chanel, yet people are perhaps beginning to be less dazzled by the big global brands, instead and to pay closer attention to our homegrown talents. Britain has always produced meticulously crafted pieces that people feel an emotional attachment to, from a Purdey rifle to a Wedgwood teacup. We’ve retained that sense of rarity that the multinationals no longer do.
We also have stringent standards in place to guarantee quality, and any brand in proud possession of a Royal Warrant, like Thomas Lyte, knows how many hoops need to be jumped through to gain and retain that honour. British craft is of such an unrivalled standard that it remains globally revered. One look at the raft of commissions from overseas that Thomas Lyte has been awarded this year testifies to the brand’s highly deserved recognition as a Great British Brand.
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Note from the editor: Ahead of Christmas Day, and the new year, this will be the last “Culture Round-Up” article of 2023. We’d like to thank the many friends we have made this year for all their support while Charlotte was researching for our Culture Round-Up series. From Charlotte, myself, and all of our staff at Thomas Lyte, we wish you a very merry Christmas and a wonderful 2024.
Read about our press mentions and awards for the project
We have selected a number of case studies that demonstrate the broad range of our capabilities designing and making in precious metals.
