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Medals for the NatWest Island Games 2011 unveiled
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The medals for the NatWest Games 2011 have been unveiled.
Isle of Wight Studio Glass has been commissioned to produce 1555 gold, silver and bronze medals which will be presented to the winning athletes in June.
This is the first time a glass medal has been presented at a major international sporting event. Each medal is a unique piece of craftsmanship, individually produced by the skilled team at Isle of Wight Studio Glass.
Tim Harris, MD and Master Glassmaker said. “In order to make these medals we have used over half a ton of glass, with six different processes. A tremendous amount of work goes into the creation of the medals. Each medal is handmade with hot molten glass encasing ribbon coloured bands. Then etched with a sandcarving technique, finally being infi lled with Gold, Silver or Bronze".
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265 Commemorative medals will also be presented to dignitaries and officials as a memorable gift of this auspicious occasion.
There will also be a limited edition souvenir made by Isle of Wight Studio Glass which can be purchased from the Games Office throughout the week. These can also be ordered after the Games have taken place.
For more information on the Natwest Island Games please visit their website Click Here.
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Making of the medals......
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Firstly molten glass is gathered from the furnace at a temperature of 1050 C. using a solid iron.
Coloured glass powder is then added to create the ribbon effect inside the medal. The glass is slowly cooling all the time so the glassmaker uses a heating unit called a “Glory Hole” to keep the glass at a workable temperature.
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Having created the ribbons of colour the glassmaker returns to the furnace to take more clear glass to encase the ribbons.
The glassmaker then shapes the hot glass using various age old techniques until he is happy with the overall shape ready for the medal to be transferred to another solid iron known as a “Bridging Iron” or “Puntil”.
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The second glassmaker then reheats the top area of the medal, using the "Glory Hole", until molten so that a loop can be easily created leaving a small hole were the ribbon is to be attached.
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To finish the hot process the medal is “cracked off” the solid iron and a very hot flame is applied to the base ensuring any scarring is removed.
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Finally the medals are placed in an annealing oven at a temperature of 450 C. which is then allowed to cool slowly over a period of 12 -16 hours.
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An acetate image of the logo is used to produce a ‘resist’, which is then applied to the medal and masked off. The glass is then etched through the resist using a sandcarving technique.
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The resist and masking are removed and gold, silver or bronze metallic infill is then applied by hand.
Finally the medal is hand polished ready for the ribbon to be attached.
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