World Darts Championship: Meet the Sussex jeweller who designed the Sid Waddell Trophy

Mike Shorer, 64, designed the Sid Waddell Trophy for the PDC World Darts Championship back in 2012. Last night (January 3), more than 1.5 million people saw the newly crowned champion Michael Smith lift the prestigious prize at the Alexandra Palace, after he defeated Michael van Gerwen 7-4 in the final.

Mike said: “It’s such a buzz, upwards of 20 million people might have seen that trophy since I made it, it's quite a thing. It’s become the brand image of the entire event. Darts fans around the world know this trophy above all the others.”

Mike is a seventh-generation goldsmith, having graduated from the Sir John Cass School of Art with a diploma and going on to be the studio manager of a famous London Society jeweller. Whilst working in the capital, he made pieces for the Royal Family, as well as musicians, athletes and film stars.

Mike said: “My father used to be the senior conservation officer at the British Museum. He was an archaeologist but did various research into metal working techniques through history and was also a trained diamond mounter.

"He had a studio at home, so when I was young there were a lot of hammers and files knocking around. It was inevitable that me being a boy, I would start bashing the hell out of things.”

In 1990, ‘fed-up’ of sitting on trains commuting to London from Essex, Mike set up his own business and eventually moved to Seaford in 1995, before finally setting up shop in Denton, Newhaven, in 2007.

Mike said: “When I decided to go it alone - I renovated an old stable block by us in Essex. I spent the next week-and-a-half writing letters to what I hoped would be potential clients.

“Out of 430 letters I wrote, I only got two replies. Luckily, one of them was Barry Hearn, as he needed a couple of trophies for his Snooker tournaments.”

Since then, Mike has gone on to design trophies for a number Hearn’s sports – including snooker, fishing, horse racing and BMX racing.

He has also continued to make commissioned work for the Royal Family, 10 Downing Street, films, TV, corporate and private clients.

However, Mike’s most popular work lies in Darts. Alongside the World Championship trophy, the Newhaven resident has also designed the Premier League and World Grand Prix of Darts prizes.

Speaking about the trophy-making process, Mike said: “Sometimes they have an idea of what they need, but it depends what sport it is.

“I never make a standard cup with two handles, it's always obviously something to do with that sport. I can advise them what will look good on camera and also what will do the sponsors some good and get people talking about it.

“I take it from there, I make sketches and work to their budgets, it's remarkable what you can come up with.