Royal Thames Yacht Club

Garrard, the world’s oldest jewellers, has become a corporate partner of the Royal Thames Yacht Club, the world’s oldest continually-operating yacht club. This formal announcement seals a relationship that dates back over 235 years, when Garrard was first commissioned to make a trophy for the Royal Thames’s inaugural race held on the River Thames.

As corporate partner Garrard will enjoy a significant presence at the Royal Thames Yacht Club in Knightsbridge, and amongst the Club’s worldwide members. Garrard will also take on the title of the Club’s ‘Official Silversmith’, and will be designing an exclusive range of nautical themed jewellery in recognition of this unique relationship.

Today, the Royal Thames still has a unique historic collection of eleven Garrard trophies dating back to 1776 in its Knightsbridge-based Clubhouse. Amongst the collection are five Garrard trophies that were presented between 1776 and 1782 to the Clubs’ sailing members, known then as the Cumberland Sailing Society. In 1802, Garrard was commissioned to design a trophy called the Vauxhall Cup for a competition which can claim to be the world’s first recorded instance of sponsored yacht racing, as the races were held on the river off the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens. Still presented today, this cup is now known as the Royal Thames Trafalgar Cup.

In 2010 Garrard’s Creative Director, Stephen Webster, was commissioned to create the Royal Thames Cup. This new trophy was raced for in a series of match races known as the 1851 Cup Regatta, which saw the highest level of racing take place on the Solent between TEAM ORIGIN and BMW Oracle Racing, current holders of the America’s Cup.

The Royal Thames Cup joins some of Garrard’s iconic sporting trophies, which include the Dubai World Cup, the Cricket World Cup, the Premier League Trophy, and the original America’s Cup – still recognised by many as the world’s top yachting prize.

CEO of Garrard, Eric Deardorff, said; "We are delighted to become a corporate partner of the Royal Thames Yacht Club, having been responsible for producing trophies for them for the last 235 years. From the Cumberland Cup in 1775 to the Royal Thames Cup, produced this year, Garrard has a long and proud history of producing sailing trophies for the Royal Thames. We are currently also producing an exclusive range of silverware for club members which will be previewing in the club before Christmas."

“The Royal Thames Yacht Club is delighted that Garrard has become a corporate partner of the Club. With a relationship over 235 years between our two organisations, it is a natural partnership of heritage and prestige,” said Vice Commodore Peter Haslehurst. “We are immensely proud of our collection of Garrard trophies, and we look forward to the future developments from this fine British brand with its nautical collection.”