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.

Oct- 2016 -

24 October

Current Affairs

Tom Davis

Birmingham Assay Office CEO to step down next year

The Birmingham Assay Office (BAO) has announced that its CEO and assay master, Stella Layton, is to leave the role at the end of March 2017. The BAO also announced that Doug Henry, an experienced managing director who has been responsible for several of the organisation’s key projects over the…
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13 October

Economy

Tom Davis

Hallmarking falls 11.5% in September

The total number of hallmarked items fell 11.5% in September, a decrease of 115,994 pieces when compared with the same month last year. The figure – from all four UK assay offices and compiled by the Birmingham Assay Office – found the total number of hallmarked items in September stood…
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5 October

Current Affairs

Tom Davis

UK jewellers consider legal challenge to BAO over Indian hallmarking

A group of jewellers and silversmiths in the UK are considering a legal challenge to the Birmingham Assay Office over its practice of using UK hallmarking overseas. The news comes after the Birmingham and Sheffield Assay Offices’ marks have been approved by the British Hallmarking Council for use in their…
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4 October

Events

Tom Davis

NAJ unveils awards shortlist

The National Association of Jewellers (NAJ) has unveiled the shortlist for its annual awards, which celebrate the contribution of itsmembers to the jewellery industry. New to awards this year is the category ‘Workshop Employee of the Year’, which aims to recognise the importance of specialist skills in the industry and…
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Sep- 2016 -

22 September

Events

Tom Davis

Worcestershire jeweller named as finalist in local awards

The owner of a Worcestershire jewellery shop has been shortlisted in the annual Midlands Family Business Awards. The awards, which celebrate the work and achievements of family businesses across the region, will see Asa Cupitt – owner of Cupitt Jewellers in Bromsgrove – named as one of the five finalists…
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13 September

Economy

Tom Davis

9ct gold soars 32% in positive August hallmarking figures

The number of 9-carat gold items hallmarked in August soared 32% in a positive month for overall hallmarking figures. That’s according to latest figures released from the four UK assay offices, and compiled by the Birmingham Assay Office, which found overall hallmarking figures soared 10.4% from 696,251 items last year…
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13 September

Events

Tom Davis

Nominations set to close for NAJ 2016 awards

Nominations for the National Association of Jewellers (NAJ) awards 2016 are due to close this Friday (16 September). The awards, which aim to acknowledge and celebrate the “exceptional” contribution of the association’s members to the jewellery industry, features seven categories. The categories: Designer of the Year An award to the…
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Aug- 2016 -

24 August

Current Affairs

Tom Davis

UK Jewellers launch parliamentary petition to restrict offshore UK hallmarks

A group of UK silversmiths and jewellers have launched a campaign to restrict the use of distinctive traditional UK hallmarks, including city marks, to items hallmarked in the UK. For over 700 years UK hallmarks have only been struck in the UK, but the campaign said that there is now…
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18 August

Current Affairs

Tom Davis

Birmingham Jewellery Quarter reaches another milestone in quest for £2m investment

Several roads around Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter are set to close this weekend to make way for a major filming production. The closures – beginning at 7am on 19 August until 6am the following day – are for the purpose of transforming the Jewellery Quarter’s streets into a “futuristic America” for…
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17 August

Events

Tom Davis

Jewellery firms named in Small Business Saturday’s ‘Small Biz 100’

Six small jewellery firms have been named among the 100 small businesses in the UK to be celebrated by Small Business Saturday. The businesses will be among those featured one per day for the 100 days leading up to the dedicated Small Business Saturday on 3 December. The jewellery companies…
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