Summary (by AI): I found my visit to the Birmingham Jewellery Quarter and the preserved JW Evans silver factory to be a fascinating and mind-blowing experience that felt like stepping back into the Victorian era.
Blog: I’ve been vaguely aware of the Birmingham Jewelry Quarter for most of my life, but I must admit I wasn’t 100% sure what it was all about. To be honest, I expected it to be an old historical area that had been turned into shops and cafes. The reality, however, was pretty different—it is still basically an industrial area right in the heart of the city.
It’s not as crazy as I'm sure it was in the olden times, shall we say, but apparently 40% of the jewelry made in the UK is still made there. As you walk around, it definitely feels more industrial and commercial than it does touristy or shopping-oriented.
It’s about a ten-minute walk from the city centre and the canals, and I was specifically heading for the JW Evans silver factory. I’d read all about it on the internet, and it sounded absolutely fascinating. It’s an old factory that is now run and preserved by English Heritage. They took it over in 2008, but what makes it incredible is that they literally did not touch a thing.
The whole place is mind-blowing because it is as if the workers left on Tuesday, and on Wednesday English Heritage took over and just froze everything in time. They haven’t touched a single thing. Everything on the shelves, the workbenches, the tools, even the rubbish in the bins has been left exactly as it was. And what’s really amazing is that even though this handover happened in 2008, the factory itself was still running pretty much exactly as it did in late Victorian times.
The factory built its reputation on dicing and drop stamping, where massive steel blocks were placed under a heavy stamp to force the silver into moulds. All those machines were still there. Because English Heritage is so insistent on keeping the place exactly as it was found, there are still real-life health and safety hazards everywhere, which is why children aren't actually allowed on the tour. As a prime example of this, there are actual bottles of phosphoric acid still lying around on the workbenches. Because they refuse to move them, kids are barred from visiting. You really get a sense of what it was like because there was obviously no health and safety back then—it was dark, dirty, and felt exactly like being inside a Victorian workhouse.
Sitting in the waiting room for the tour on a random Tuesday afternoon, I had a bit of a moment where I recognized my own retirement situation. I'm relatively young to be retired, but more than happy to be out and about doing things. Looking around, I was surrounded by quite a lot of older people, shall we say. But it was absolutely fascinating.
After the factory, I went for a great walk around the rest of the Jewellery Quarter. You can definitely sense the active trade there—it's a bit like Hatton Garden in London, where you could easily go and buy yourself a wedding ring. I also stopped by a brilliant pub - the Jewellers Arms - you can just imagine the workers in there after the shift finished.
I would definitely recommend taking a look around the Jewellery Quarter if you get the chance. I can imagine it gets quite lively at night because I did spot a few hip and trendy cafes. And, obviously, if you’re in the market for a wedding ring—which I'm not—it's definitely the place to go.
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