I’d originally planned to round off this year’s Collections Corner with something fun about Christmas cards (we have a few in the Collection!), but they were swiftly replaced after a brilliant team visit to Vaughtons at the end of last month.
Vaughtons are Aston Martin’s official badge makers and have been devotedly crafting the wings for over a decade now. Established in 1819, they have many strands to their bow beyond the automotive and have created football trophies and medals, mayoral chains and even Olympic medals. They produced them for both the 1908 and 1948 games.
Visiting the site to find out more about how Aston Martin’s iconic wings are produced is something that we have long wanted to do. While we have a little on display in the museum about making the badges, being able to experience it first-hand has already enabled us to share so much more with our visitors.
We were shown around by Nick Hobbis, Managing Director, whose passion and energy for his work is infectious. We were lucky to see each stage of the process and the different types of badges and letters that are made for Aston Martin, alongside the incredible, rare equipment and the experts that work them.
There are around 30 different processes involved in creating the finished product and there is such intense focus on the detail at every stage. The wings go through a number of hands who all ensure that every pair produced is perfect; from stamping for clarity of the ‘ASTON MARTIN’ letters to digging out imperfections created in the enamel during the firing process and refilling them. Nothing is sent out unless it is spot on and they have a 0% return rate from Aston Martin.
We were given the opportunity to try our hands at enamelling, which has definitely been one of my own highlights of the year. Though I imagine our attempts might not quite meet the high standards expected! Following this we were shown an enamelled badge being fired and it was amazing to see the sand-like exterior begin to turn to glass and ‘ASTON MARTIN’ slowly become visible.
Listening to Nick and other members of staff explain what they do gives you a sense of just how much concentration, dedication and pride is taken in producing the wings. There is a strong sense of tradition and British craftsmanship which is so synonymous with Aston Martin.
I’ve come away having learnt so much that we can apply to the collection and invest back into the museum. What a way to end another action packed year at AMHT!
A big thank you goes out to our wonderful volunteers too who have helped us with so much this year and a number of whom were able to join us on the visit.
While there’s already much in the pipeline for 2025, I’m looking forward to seeing what else it has to bring and to sharing it with you. See you next year!
