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Birmingham Assay Office bosses joined members of their building project team to begin work on the site of the new building at Icknield Street last week.
The Assay Office has been at its current home in Newhall Street since 1877, and says that the move within the Jewellery Quarter “demonstrates the confidence and commitment of one of Birmingham’s oldest businesses as it continues to invest for the future.”
Founded by an Act of Parliament in 1773, the Assay Office still carries out its statutory duty of testing and hallmarking precious metal but has widened its scope considerably in the past decade, now offering assessment, authentication and valuation of precious metals, jewellery, watches, fashion accessories and gemstones.
Commenting on the ground breaking ceremony, new CEO Stella Layton said: “This is a very significant moment for the Assay Office Birmingham. The new building will enable us to offer better facilities to our customers in terms of efficiency and security and much better, working conditions for our staff.
“It will provide a centre of excellence to the local trade and make our important private collection of silver and our library more accessible to researchers and other enthusiasts. The move is crucial to our future business development, offering a more flexible and more environmentally friendly facility to support our ambitions as we continue to grow our portfolio of innovative services to the jewellery, precious metal, gemstone and other associated trades.”
The new site is in a designated Enterprise Zone, and has attracted an ERDF grant of £1.2m. The project is being coordinated by project manager Mark Wright of Trebor Developments and the building designed by Glazzard Architects of Worcester.
