Goldsmiths’ Fair’s partnership with The Betts Group expands to include a new award

One year on from the launch of their partnership, Goldsmiths’ Fair and The Betts Group are deepening their support for emerging British jewellery and silversmithing businesses with renewed backing for the Emerging Business Bursary and the launch of a new award celebrating considered, responsible jewellery.

The Betts Group, which has provided quality and service from the heart of Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter for more than 260 years, began its partnership with Goldsmiths’ Fair in 2025 with a minimum three-year commitment. Designed to grow year by year, the collaboration supports early-career makers through the EBB scheme, whilst now adding in an award to recognise any maker at any stage of their career, while encouraging more responsible approaches to precious-metal sourcing.

In its first year, the partnership supported the Emerging Business Bursary programme through the gift of four kilograms of AgAIN silver bullion, made from silver reclaimed from medical X-ray films. In 2026, bursary recipients will once again receive AgAIN silver from The Betts Group, while the partnership also expands with the launch of the SMO Considered Jewellery Award at Goldsmiths’ Fair.

Launching at Goldsmiths’ Fair 2026, the SMO Considered Jewellery Award will recognise exceptional jewellery created with integrity, responsibility and purpose. Sponsored by Single Mine Origin (SMO), an initiative providing fully traceable gold from responsibly operated mines, the award reflects SMO’s commitment to greater transparency, accountability and positive impact throughout the jewellery supply chain.

Open to every jeweller exhibiting at the Fair, the award invites makers to demonstrate a considered and responsible approach to material sourcing and processes. An expert panel, including jewellery writer and expert Melanie Grant and British jewellery designer Shaun Leane,  will then judge each piece on the quality, originality and vision of the jewellery itself.

Two finalists will be selected from each week of the Fair, with the overall winner announced at a special event at Goldsmiths’ Hall on 5 November. The winner will receive a year of PR mentoring from leading luxury communications agency EBPR, as well as £4,000 credit towards responsibly sourced materials from The Betts Group.

“We’re incredibly pleased to launch this award at Goldsmiths’ Fair, a place that brings together some of the UK’s most remarkable jewellery talent. Responsible sourcing should be the starting point for exceptional jewellery — the permission to play, not the final achievement. Through the SMO Considered Jewellery Award, we want to celebrate makers who combine integrity in their materials with outstanding creativity, craftsmanship and purpose. We hope it will give makers the recognition and encouragement to keep pushing boundaries, and help inspire positive change across our industry.”

Charlie Betts, Co-Founder of Single Mine Origin and Managing Director of The Betts Group

The renewed support also forms part of the 2026 Emerging Business Bursary package, which includes:

Competition for the 2026 Emerging Business Bursary was strong, with more than 95 craftspeople applying for just 10 spaces. All applicants had started their jewellery or silversmithing business within the last six years and were assessed through a rigorous vetting and selection process by a panel of industry specialists.

After much deliberation, the 2026 Emerging Business Bursaries have been awarded to 10 makers whose work will be shown at Goldsmiths’ Fair.

The first scalable product of its type, AgAIN Silver is refined from the tonnes of medical X-ray film processed by The Betts Metals every week. Two to five grams of silver are found in every kilogram of X-ray film.