Cast metal awards are sculpted stars, figures, flames and plaques cast in metal and set on a solid base, finished in gold tone, chrome, silver, copper or antique bronze. Buyers land here for an annual recognition night, a retirement, a sales club or a service milestone, where the piece has to read from a stage and then sit on a desk for years afterward.
The base decides the look
Twenty pieces in this category are cast metal on their own. Fourteen pair cast metal with optical crystal, which picks up stage light and keeps the metal figure as the focal point. Four sit on marble or stone, four combine aluminum with cast metal, three use rosewood and six add a second metal component. Crystal and marble add real weight in the hand. Rosewood reads warmer and quieter, and the Hand-Cast Metal Figure Award on Rosewood, Brass Plate Included arrives with its brass plate as part of the award rather than as a second thing to source.
Shapes and heights
Star shapes turn up on crystal towers, on crystal bases and on piano-finish rosewood. Beyond stars there are eagles, golfers, a drill sergeant, a laurel wreath plaque, a 24K gold apple, a railroad spike and cast keys. The Cast Metal Star Award on an Optical Crystal Tower is listed in black, clear and blue crystal, and the Chrome Eagle Award on an Optical Crystal Base comes in two heights. If your program runs three tiers, look for designs that publish three sizes under one name: the Gold-Plated Star Achievement Award on Black Marble Base is listed at 2.625" x 8.75" x 2.625", 3.125" x 10.5" x 3.125" and 3.75" x 14" x 3.75".
Planning the order
Decide the tier structure first, then the base material, then the height. A tiered program reads best when the shape stays the same and only the size changes, so gold, silver and bronze levels are obvious at a glance. Cast plaques work when the wording is long, and small cast pieces such as paperweights and keys suit a mass handout at the same event. Related pieces sit in Employee Recognition Awards and Coins and Medallions.