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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Sep- 2016 -13 SeptemberEvents
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 AugustCurrent Affairs
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 AugustCurrent Affairs
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 AugustEvents
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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16 AugustEconomy
Hallmarking slumps 11.8% in July
The total number of hallmarked items dropped 11.8% in July, a decrease of 92,333 pieces when compared with the same month last year. New figures from all four of the UK’s assay offices, and compiled by the Birmingham Assay Office, which found the total number of hallmarked items in July…
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8 AugustEvents
Holts Academy named finalist for National Business Awards
Holts Academy of Jewellery has been shortlisted for the Positive Social Impact award, part of the 2016 Lloyds Bank National Business Awards. Holts Academy – a training provider for the jewellery industry – was chosen from the hundreds of businesses that entered or were nominated across 18 award categories. It…
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Jul- 2016 -8 JulyEvents
NAJ Awards open for nomination
The National Association of Jewellers (NAJ) has announced its annual awards ceremony is now open for nominations. It’s second awards since the association was formed from a unification between the National Association of Goldsmiths (NAG) and the British Jewellers Association (BJA), businesses within the industry will be nominated across seven…
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Jun- 2016 -21 JuneManufacturers
Stephen Betts Group acquires Unity Wedding Bands
Precious metal specialist Stephen Betts Group has announced the acquisition of wedding band manufacturer Unity Wedding Bands. The sale will put Betts Metal Sales (BMS) in full control of all aspects of the manufacturing process for its wedding rings, as well as bringing a dedicated team of skilled, innovative designers…
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20 JuneAnalysis
FOCUS ON: Education and training in the jewellery industry
Training methods in the jewellery industry haven’t changed much over the years, although new establishments have provided a structured approach and increased access to funding. As technical skills and mass manufacturing continue gradually to move abroad, what’s next for the industry? [divider style=”solid” top=”20″ bottom=”20″] Education and training may seem…
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15 JuneCurrent Affairs
Brexit could trigger ‘gold bullion rush’
British online gold bullion and coin dealer, BullionByPost, is forecasting its busiest every trading day of voters decide on a Brexit, citing there could be a ‘gold bullion rush’. Rob Halliday-Stein, who founded the Birmingham-based company in 2008, has predicted that a decision to leave the EU will prompt an…
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