Birmingham
Birmingham has a rich heritage as a centre for jewellery manufacturing and trade, with its historic Jewellery Quarter still home to hundreds of workshops and businesses. For UK jewellers, wholesalers, and suppliers, the city remains a vital hub for production, design, and distribution. Jewellery Focus covers Birmingham’s role in the industry, from updates on local businesses and manufacturing trends to insights into policy developments and events shaping the trade. Our reporting helps professionals understand the city’s continuing influence on the UK jewellery sector.
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Nov- 2018 -22 NovemberFeatures
What is x-ray fluorescence testing?
The change in the UK jewellery market during the past 15 years has been dramatic and irreversible. Items made outside the UK now outnumber UK manufactured articles by about nine to one and there has been a significant increase in silver and mixed metal articles and those which are hollow…
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16 NovemberFeatures
Saying ‘Yes’ to platinum
Platinum has been successfully marketed as the ultimate precious metal and has proved relatively resilient to recent financial turmoil. Volume in the platinum market is very much driven by the bridal market and it has fared slightly better than gold and silver. Platinum is firmly established as the luxury option…
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14 NovemberMetal Prices
Strong double-digit growth for gold and platinum in October hallmarking
Hallmarking increased by an average of 1.6% in October 2018 compared with the same period the previous year, according to figures compiled by the Birmingham Assay Office. This was supported by double-digit growth in gold, increasing by 60,849 to 509,390 hallmarked pieces, and platinum, rising by 4,593 to 28,652 items…
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9 NovemberCrime
Birmingham gold bangle scam trio jailed
Three jewellers who falsely claimed that sets of gold bangles they manufactured and sold were made from higher quality gold have been jailed for a total of 14 years. Ibrar Hussain, 38, and Sabhia Shaheen, 40, of Shiza Jewellers, based at 681 Stratford Road, together with 47-year-old Mohammed Afsar, known…
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Oct- 2018 -31 OctoberFeatures
Casting: Are manufacturers matching the retailers into the future?
I am worried that the standard of craftsmanship within our industry is dropping. Of course we still have wonderful craftsmen and women in the UK, and more in training, but unless you are based either in London or Birmingham – how hard is it to find a first class apprenticeship…
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17 OctoberAuctions
Timepiece dedicated to historic Polish watchmaker up for auction
A timepiece dedicated to watchmaker Franciszek Czapek is up for auction at Fellows Auctioneers in Birmingham on Tuesday 30 October for £4,500 – £5,500. The watch brand is named Warszawianka due to it being a patriotic song in Poland, and there is an inscription on the dial which includes lyrics.…
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16 OctoberFeatures
Design Walkthrough – Anaïs Paris
Following a soft launch to the jewellery trade at this year’s Jewellery & Watch Show in Birmingham, HD Group will announce the release of its third, and possibly final, brand later this year. The brand, Anaïs Paris, is inspired by the ‘floating locket’ concept which according to Adryan Cresswell, head…
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12 OctoberEconomy
Hallmarking drops 11% as silver and platinum struggle
Hallmarking fell by an average of 11.7% in September 2018 compared with the same period the previous year, according to figures compiled by the Birmingham Assay Office. The number of silver and platinum pieces hallmarked decreased by 22.2% and 7% respectively. However, gold did increase 1.5% up from 364,440 to…
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8 OctoberFeatures
Are jewellery trade shows dying?
“A different rhythm and a different approach is needed. In this new context, annual watch fairs, as they exist today, no longer make much sense. This does not mean that they should disappear, but, it is necessary that they reinvent themselves, responding appropriately to the current situation and demonstrating more…
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5 OctoberDesigners
Museum of the Jewellery Quarter announces its first ‘Jeweller in Residence’
Fiona Harris has been announced by the Museum of the Jewellery Quarter to be its first ‘Jeweller in Residence’, a project which aims to support emerging jewellery designers. Harris, who previously studied at Birmingham City University School of Jewellery, is the first designer to be crowned with the title. As…
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