So just what does this unique and iconic Cup look like? The America’s Cup trophy is a stunningly ornate ewer, one of a handful of off-the-shelf trophies crafted in 1848 London by the world’s oldest jeweler, Garrard & Company. Henry William Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey, bought one of the trophies and donated it as the prize for the winner in 1851 for the Royal Yacht Squadron’s regatta around the Isle of Wight. Made of striking sterling silver and weighing in at 35 pounds, its original height was 27 inches but has had its base extended twice for engravings. It was originally known as the “Royal Yacht Squadron’s £100 Cup”, meaning the cup had a value of hundred British pounds. Today, the trophy is officially named the “America’s Cup” after the name of the first yacht to win it.
The Cup resided in an alcove at the NYYC’s club house in New York until 1983. That year, Australia 11 won the America’s Cup, and the trophy was transported by a Brinks armored truck to our own Marble House on Bellevue Ave where Dyer Jones gave a dignified presentation to mark the end of the longest winning streak in all of sport’s history. Tragedy struck the Cup in March of 1997 inside the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron’s clubhouse in Westhaven, Auckland, when Benjamin Peri Nathan used a sledgehammer to smash and batter the Cup. It was returned to Garrard & Co. for repair, which took three months.
In the years around the original making of the Cup, Garrard produced several other ewers in the exact same style and size as the America’s Cup. However, the America’s Cup is truly the only one of its kind.
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Location:Newport
