The Toyshop of Europe

The jewellery trade has historically been one of the biggest employing industries in the town. It developed primarily at the end of the 18th century.

Little is known about the jewellery industry prior to the establishment of the Assay Office in 1773. Subsequently, however, Birmingham jewellers no longer had to suffer the impracticalities and expense of sending their wares to Chester for assaying. And with the expertise already available in trades such as buckles and toys, the Birmingham workers were well equiped for processing the gold and precious stones imported from South Africa and Holland.

The depression which followed the Napoleonic Wars caused a major slump in the industry. But Queen Victoria's accession to the throne in 1837 brought with it a fashion for wearing jewellery. Many poorly paid industrial workers in Birmingham set up their own "peg", often from home, often improving their standard of living considerably.

Advert for Henry Manton's silverwares 1840

The trade is divided into manufacturing and non-manufacturing jewellers. The former provide raw rings, brooches, chains, etc for the non-manufacturing jewellers to turn into finished items of jewellery. This distinction still applies today. Indeed, the whole Jewellery Quarter in Hockley is still standing, much of it having been refurbished in the 1980s and 1990s.

A technological milestone in the trade was 1840, when Elkington perfected the method of electro-plating of silver. This very well suited Victorian demand for status symbols, facilitating as it did the production of affordable mock jewellery. The development has given rise to the expression "Brummagem ware" as synonymous of shoddy goods.

The period from 1866 to the depression of 1886 is known as the Silver Jewellery Period, when silver was actually more popular as a raw material than gold. During this period much civic regalia was produced in Birmingham and diamonds were also being increasingly used (cf. the "Spencer" page). Decorative boxes and household items such as brush backs were also being manufactured in silver. Those working in the jewellery trade increased from 7,500 to 16,000 by 1890, when a further slump set in.

In 1887 the Birmingham Jewellers' and Silversmiths' Association was set up, followed a year later by the Jewellers' School in an attempt to raise standards and thereby protect the industry from decline. This coupled with the cheap gold prices around the beginning of the 20th century led to another boom in trade.

By 1913 the jewellery trade reached its zenith, providing at its peak employment for 22,000 Birmingham workers. The War of course put a temporary end to demand for jewellery, and the ensuing depression in the 1920s caused many firms to close. Today, however, the trade in jewellery is again a key segment of Birmingham's economy.