Garrards silver limited edition commemorative model of Queen Elizabeth II and The Duke of Edinburgh for their silver wedding anniversary designed by Alex Styles, £1600 at Mitchells.
His main career began in 1947, becoming a staff designer for the Goldsmiths and Silversmiths Company. In 1952 Styles joined Garrard & Co when the two companies merged. His lengthy career with Garrard ended only when he retired in 1987 (the same year a major retrospective of his work was held at Goldsmiths’ Hall).
According to styles-silver.co.uk, in 1953 he was responsible for a “fine bowl with lion and unicorn handles to commemorate the coronation and the following year designed his first mace, for St Ives Town Council. Over the next few decades he would design numerous pieces of regalia including mayoral badges that are still in use all over the world.”
It adds: “In 1969 the people of Caernarvon commissioned a four-piece coffee set to be presented to HRH The Prince of Wales on his investiture.”
Shown here is a Garrards silver limited edition commemorative model of Queen Elizabeth II and The Duke of Edinburgh for their silver wedding anniversary (1947-72) by Styles, signed with facsimile signature.
Numbered 8/12, the height including base is 11½in (29cm). Estimated at £800-1200 in the Mitchells (25% buyer’s premium) auction in Cockermouth, Cumbria, on March 22, it made £1600.
