For over 200 years The Jewellery Quarter has been the home of some of the worlds most highly skilled goldsmiths and jewellery makers.

The advent of shops opening to the public is a recent phenomenon, with the majority of retail outlets springing up since the 1970s. And now the area is widely known as a place for both the trade and public to browse and buy the finest products at the keenest prices.

Tradesmen worked from home, or in small workshops, and on the whole specialised in a particular craft. Many of these specialist craft and services complimented each other, strengthening the sense of community in the area and fostering a national and international respect for the indsutry in the area.

By 1861 over 7000 people were engaged in the jewellery trade. The local jewellery industry grew out of the areas toy trade. At that time the toy trade included the manufacture of a wide range of small items made from steel, such as buttons, buckles and brooches and various trinkets. The nineteenth century saw a shift towards the manufacture of jewellery and buttons in the area.

The gold rushes in 19th century USA and Australia led to an increase in the supply and demand for jewellery with the Birmingham Assay Office being granted permission to hallmark goldware from 1824. As trade flourished, so the area developed with new streets, large residential properties built for manufacturers and the well-off, plus more and more terraces from which many of the tradesmen worked and/or lived in. The magnificent and compelling dwellings, workplaces, streets and alleyways which help to make the area such a magnet for visitors derives from this expansion of industry and craft. Less than 100 years ago up to 20,000 people were employed in the industry.

Since the post-war recession of the 1940s and 1950s however employment levels have fallen and stand at around 4,000 currently.