13 November 2014 Graham Stewart - The Art of Silver

At last week's Partners Evening, President Peter Farr welcomed Irene McKie, Chief Executive of Strathcarron Hospice, who accepted a cheque from Hospice Support convener, Jim Gardner, for £12,200.00 as the proceeds from this year's Am-Am Golf Competition which was held in June at Dunblane New Golf Club.
Irene thanked the club for their long standing support - this was the 29th Am-Am and in total, well over £300,000 has been raised for the Hospice by this event. The club also offers further support in marshalling at various Hospice events such as the Ladies Midnight Walk and their 10k Run, which Irene said was vital to their success.
The speaker for the evening was Graham Stewart, who was accompanied by his wife Elizabeth, and his topic was 'The Art of Silver'
Graham was brought up in Dollar where he was inspired by his father who was always making things, ranging from furniture to fishing rods. After graduating from Gray's School of Art in Aberdeen where he studied Design, Silversmithing and Jewellery, he started a ring shop and gallery in Dunblane in 1978.
He and his long serving team now design and produce pieces ranging from small intricate jewellery to large commemorative presentation items. Graham's speciality is fine hand cut engraving and the slides shown illustrated some of the fine pieces they have produced over the years. One of the best known commissions was the 'Three Honours' sculpture made for the opening of the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh in 2004 which is made of sterling silver with the upright sceptre in silver gilt. It is the largest hallmark ever struck into a piece of silver in Scotland and the punches used were destroyed afterwards. Around 30 kilograms of silver were used in its construction.
Nick Rawlings thanked Graham and Elizabeth on behalf of all those present for the talk and sharing the pictures of such a wonderful collection of gold, silver and jewellery.