52 Jane Street, Edinburgh, EH6 5HG
Bespoke
We have a long history of producing unique items for our customers. A few examples include beautifully engraved name plates for buildings or homes, silver inlaid boxes, brass plaques for paintings, replica silver golf clubs (see below), masonic tokens and jewels, office bearers badges, captains medallions, etc. Possibly the most famous 'unique' work from Alexander Kirkwood & Son are the stall plates produced for the Thistle Chapel (see below).
Whatever you are looking for, we are here to help - please get in touch to discuss your needs.
Scottish Universities Golfing Society (SUGS)
The Scottish Universities Golfing Society (SUGS) was founded in 1906 and consists of members who played golf whilst studying at a Scottish University. Annual matches are played against the Scottish University golf teams as well as against teams from Oxford and Cambridge and the Dublin and Queens (Belfast) University Golfing Societies.
In 1988, a match was played between SUGS and a team representing London – which became the London Universities Golfing Society (LUGS) that same year. This match has been played annually, alternating between Scotland and England with venues like Muirfield, Luffness, Sandwich, Walton Heath and Rye.
The 2 teams have traditionally played for a rugby ball, signed by members of the 1990 Grand Slam-winning Scotland squad, donated by Neil Falconer and known as The Falconer Ball. Over the years, the ball was looking a little worse for wear, with signatures starting to rub off. Alexander Kirkwood & Son was commissioned to create a full-size replica trophy with the squad’s signatures hand engraved onto the ball & all results dating back to 1988 engraved on the base. We also created a bespoke transportation box to keep it safe on its travels up and down the country.
Royal Portrush Golf Club
Royal Portrush, founded in 1888, has been a client of Alexander Kirkwood & Son for many years - we are proud annual suppliers of medals, trophies and quaichs.
We were delighted when the President of the Ladies' Branch of the club reached out, with an idea to create a bespoke pair of trophies to be played for on Ladies' President's Day - one for the Ladies and the second for the Men. They were to commemorate the Centenary of the Ladies' Branch in 2022 and in particular to celebrate a lady called May Hezlet who was the first President in that same year. May Hezlet has been described as "Ireland's greatest women golfer" having been British Ladies Champion in 1899, 1902 and 1907.
It was important that the trophies reflected Royal Portrush's place in Ireland and therefore, the bases were designed as imperfect hexagon's to reflect the Club's close proximity to the spectacular Giant's Causeway. The bases were clad in a local wood called, 'Irish Bog Oak', unique as it can only be sourced from the bogs of Ireland. Sitting on top the bases were 3 crossed Sterling Silver 'hickory' golf clubs handmade by our Silversmith. We then created a bespoke Hallmarked Sterling Silver 2" medal for the Ladies' trophy which we laser engraved with imagery of May Hezlet on either side. This medal sits nestled in the crossed clubs. Smaller versions of this medal were created to give to Ladies, Mens and Junior prizewinners on the day as keepsakes. The Men's trophy, in order to differentiate it from the Ladies, featured an antique Gutty golf ball to sit within the clubs. Both trophies were finished off with silver plates on the sides of the base - the 'May Hezlet Medal' and the 'May Hezlet Gutty'.
Hallmarked Silver Hickory Golf Club
This outstanding piece brings the origins of golf into your home, clubhouse or office with this full size silver golf club. Crafted to the highest standards, the club is presented on a bespoke stand of hand flamed oak with striking contrasts of natural oak.
The design, created with our partners, The Leith Silver Co., uses the Hugh Philp baffing spoon - or Baffie - as a template for the silver club. The inspiration for the club is the silver club trophy created for the world's first ever golf competition in 1744, presented by Edinburgh Town Council. The event was held at Leith Links Edinburgh and is of great historical significance as the first rules of golf were drawn up for this competition. At the time of the competition, Leith Links had just 5 holes and the silver club design symbolises this through the five silver golf balls representing each of these holes. Each golf ball is a precise and beautiful work of craftsmanship in its own right.
The silver club is expertly hand crafted from a flat sheet of sterling silver, hallmarked at the Edinburgh Assay Office, and comes with a silversmiths glove and polishing cloth. The club with stand measures 102cm long 8cm wide and 20cm high.
Presentation Golf Balls
These wonderful golf balls are the perfect gift, prize or award. Available in 2 different styles, these have been expertly crafted with our partners, The Leith Silver Co.
Braehead Sterling Silver Featherie
Named after the first tee of the historic Leith Links course the Braehead hallmarked silver featherie golf ball is the same design as those on the Silver Hickory Golf Club (see further up). The original featherie golf balls were made of leather and stuffed with a "gentleman's top hat full of feathers" they were very expensive and only three could be produced in one day. The brushed effect on the Braehead has been designed to create the appearance of the old featherie golf ball. Presented in beautiful packaging with a scroll relating to the history of the featherie golf ball. The ball can be displayed on an ebonised oak base with sterling silver plaque suitable for personalised engraving or on a hand-turned oak base.
Thorntree Featherie Golf Ball with Sterling Silver Band
Named after the fifth hole at the historic Leith Links course, this beautiful, tactile leather ball has been enhanced with a hallmarked sterling silver band. Presented in beautiful packaging with a scroll relating to the history of the featherie golf ball. This ball can can be displayed on an ebonised oak base with a sterling silver plaque for personalised engraving or on a hand-turned oak base.
Hallmarked Silver Replica Whisky Cask
This beautiful handcrafted replica whisky cask, has been created with our partners The Leith Silver Co. The perfect gift for any whisky aficionado, the cask has been hand-raised (a traditional technique, working with a hammer on a flat piece of silver over steel tools to shape the piece) and then chased with the beautiful details of a traditional whisky cask (chasing is a silversmith technique for creating pattern on the metal). Presented on a beautiful, bespoke wooden base this is a unique, one of a kind, piece.
Stall Plates for the Thistle Chapel
In the magnificent St Giles' Cathedral on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh is the Thistle Chapel, chapel of the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle, the greatest order of chivalry in Scotland. The Order consists of the Sovereign and sixteen Knights and Ladies, in addition to members of the British Royal Family and foreign monarchs. Each member of the Order is allotted a stall in the chapel and when a new knight or lady is appointed by the Monarch, a stall plate is installed, carrying their coat of arms. When a new coat of arms is required, the Court of the Lord Lion’s Herald Painter creates the design in conjunction with the Knight or Lady. This is passed to Alexander Kirkwood & Son to hand-cut the shape from specialist gilding metal, before the colour is enamelled. The finished plate is fixed to the back of the stall in the Chapel. An investiture ceremony for the new Knight or Lady usually takes place in June or July, when the Monarch is in residence at Holyrood Palace.
Shown below from left to right: Dalhousie, 1971, Lady Marion Fraser 1996, Macfarlane of Bearsden 1996, HRH The Princess Royal 2000
Replica Long-Nosed Hallmarked Silver Golf Club
Alexander Kirkwood & Son's connection to the wonderful game of golf goes back to medals produced for the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews in the 1830s. More recently, we created this beautiful replica long-nosed golf club, made with hallmarked sterling silver, including silver golf balls and detailed hand engraving, bespoke to each client. It is perfect as a ‘trophy’, perhaps being specially commissioned for a centenary year. Atlanta Athletic Club in Georgia (USA), which has hosted the US Open and the Ryder Cup, was one of our first clients to commission the club. On their version, featured below, a special gold ball was included to commemorate Bobby Jones, a lifelong member of the club and often considered to be America’s greatest golfer.
Shown below: Replica Long-Nosed Silver Golf Club commissioned by Atlanta Athletic Club, Georgia, USA
Sea Scouts
The Scouts was formed in 1910 and are dedicated to bringing fun, adventure and skills for life to young people, and promote values of care, respect, integrity and cooperation. Across the World, there are estimated to be 43 million Scouts with about ½ million in the UK, led by the charismatic adventurer and Chief Scout, Bear Grylls.
The Scout Association’s Sea Scouts are a branch of the organisation that are dedicated to boating and water-based activities such as sailing and canoeing. Cramond Sea Scouts, based on the West side of Edinburgh, approached Alexander Kirkwood & Son to create a Stand Up Paddleboard award for the annual Scottish Scout Regatta. The statuette was supplied by Re-Cycle Bikes who hand-craft their items from recycled bike parts. Alexander Kirkwood & Son created the base for the statuette, the plinth band and carried out the engraving. The result is a wonderful, fun trophy for the Sea Scouts.
University of Edinburgh Medical School
The University of Edinburgh’s School of Surgery can trace its routes back to the 1505 Incorporation of Barbers and Surgeons in Edinburgh. The Medical School of the University was officially founded in 1726 and a Chair of Clinical Surgery was established in 1803.
The Chiene Medal is presented as an annual prize in surgery at the University of Edinburgh. It is named after John Chiene who was a hugely influential Professor of Surgery at the University from 1882 to 1909. He also held the role of President of the Royal College of Surgeons from 1897 to 1899. He was a keen sportsman he was President of the Scottish Rugby Union and Captain of Bruntsfield Links Golfing Society – quite the CV!
The Chiene Medal is decided at the “School of Surgery Day” which is held annually at the University in November with abstracts submitted in advance. The medal is 2 ¾” and is cast from a mould, rather than stamped from a die. Finished in Bronze and engraved on the rim, with the winner’s name.
The Incorporated Trades of Edinburgh
The Incorporated Trades of Edinburgh represent the trade and craft bodies of the City of Edinburgh, many of which were founded in the latter part of the 15th century as a way to protect the skills and knowledge of tradesmen. In Scotland, the Trades (sometimes referred to as Guilds) also provided for the education and support of the children and widows of their members. Today, the trades all continue to be involved in charitable works.
There were 15 incorporated trades in Edinburgh, including the Incorporation of Surgeons (today, the Royal College of Surgeons), The Incorporation of Goldsmiths (which operates the Edinburgh Assay Office, one of the largest in Europe) and The Incorporation of Hammermen, which traces its history back to 1477. The latter embraced all those who worked on metal with a hammer including blacksmiths, farriers, saddlers, lorimers, armourers, cutlers, sword-slippers, girdle-makers, locksmiths, tinsmiths, whiteiron-men, brass-founders, coppersmiths and pewterers! Today, the Hammermen are one of the largest and most thriving and active incorporations. They fund awards to high achieving students in the Faculty of Engineering at Heriot Watt University and Metalworking students at Edinburgh College of Art.
The pin badge featured above, shows the Coat of Arms of the Incorporated Trades of Edinburgh – a castle surrounded by symbols representing the 15 trades.
Hallmarked Silver Cufflinks
We create bespoke Hallmarked Silver Cufflinks which could be used as awards or gifts. In this example, we were asked by Bruntsfield Links Golfing Society (founded in 1761, the 4th oldest club in the world) for cufflinks featuring their crest. We created a 'die' and then stamped the cufflinks in Sterling Silver, before soldering the cufflink attachment, hallmarking at the Edinburgh Assay Office & then finishing. Supplied in satin lined presentation boxes, these can also be personalised with an embossed crest or logo.
Bespoke Signage
We can supply signs and plaques in all shapes, sizes and colours. For Alexander Kirkwood & Son, we chose a classical polished brass plate to reflect our company’s heritage (established in 1826). It was then engraved and infilled with colour – our ‘Alexander Kirkwood & Son Green’.
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