When the players take to the court in this week’s Brodies Champions of Tennis, they will be competing for the honour of being the first name on the trophy provided by Edinburgh jeweller, Hamilton & Inches.
Handmade in the jeweller’s silver workshops above the George Street store, the trophy is a sterling silver pierced knop bowl made of slightly more than a kilo of silver. Standing 18cm in height and with a diameter of 19cm it will sit on a hand-turned oak mahogany plinth, set with two sterling silver plaques, hand-engraved by H&I’s engraver.
Experienced engraver, Ruaridh Malcolmson took time out from adding the final touches to the cup and also the personalised silver stag’s heads which will be presented to the winners, to speak to the Edinburgh Reporter: “The trophy is a lovely piece of workmanship. My part takes about two and a half hours. I apply plasticise which gives the silver a matt finish then use a wooden chopstick to sketch the letters on. When I am happy, I use a graver to cut into the metal.”
Ruaridh has been an engraver for almost 40 years and served a five year apprenticeship. He is vastly experienced and regularly does work for Her Majesty the Queen. In 2001, he inscribed Liverpool’s name on the FA Cup after they beat Arsenal in the final, a task which only took him seven minutes under the glare of a live TV camera.
This year however, he will be able to take his time, as the name of the first winner will be inscribed on Monday.
Tickets are still available for Thursday and Friday, but the weekend days are sold out.
A full preview of the action will appear in The Edinburgh Reporter later today.
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
