His Majesty spoke with trainees and with the apprentices. One of the apprentices, is being sponsored by Cassandra in the final masterpiece of her work, to be completed next year in 18ct gold and diamonds.
Michael Lloyd, a freeman of the Goldsmiths' Company, designed and made the cross. He is an Englishman with Welsh origins, who lives and works in Scotland.
Adam Phillips from the London Assay Office assisted as HM The King marked the Cross. Adam has been hallmarking Cassandra's jewellery for decades
The cross is not yet finished and needs to be marked at this stage in its creation. Additionally a small relic, a gift from the Vatican, will be incorporated into the centre of the cross protected by a clear dome of rock crystal.
Michael spoke about this great commission saying that projects like this are "much more than the metal and work itself". It is the story behind it: the history and the traditional craftsmanship all being literally hammered together, infact some 260,000 hammer blows in the 1mm thick silver sheet have been made in the chasing of the cross so far (and at that moment he brought out of his pocket the small hammer that he used for the work ).
And, as Michael explained, "The lovely thing about metal - you hit it and it moves! "
The reverse of the cross is chased with the prayer of St David in Welsh, translated it says:
"Be joyful
Keep the faith
And
do the little things".
The cross has been made from recycled silver from the Royal Mint in Wales and will have its circular motif gilded in the final stages of its creation before it is pinned to the wooden form in a few months time.
