The winners of 2013-14 FA Cup will lift a brand new trophy at Wembley this weekend. The FA take us behind the scenes as renowned silversmiths Thomas Lyte of London create football's most famous domestic cup.
The new trophy is only the third edition of the world's most famous domestic cup and replaces the 1992 edition, which in turn replaced the first iteration of the current design in 1911. The new FA Cup is made from 6.3kg of sterling silver and, standing at 61.5cm, is a perfect replica of the 1911 trophy. The 1992 trophy will remain in The FA's possession at Wembley Stadium.
Thomas Lyte has a team of expert silversmiths and they've hand spun the cup from Sterling 925 Silver. The trophy then underwent the painstaking process of casting, hand chasing, hand engraving and polishing. Originally commissioned in 2013, over 250 craft hours have been used to make this stunning 2014 trophy.
After years of clumsy players dropping the cherished cup in changing rooms the previous trophy was in need of an update as Kevin Baker, Chief Executive of Thomas Lyte explains; "When silver is restored and polished, the details will eventually be worn away. The new trophy brings back the glory of the original features, grapes, vines and fluting. Importantly, we have kept a vital element of the history as the base of the trophy will be the same and we are keeping all of the original engraving on the plinth."
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