Jewellery Quarter

The Jewellery Quarter is a large area of jewellery makers and whole-salers in the Hockley area of Birmingham England.

It has the largest concentration of dedicated jewellers in Europe.

A deputation from Birmingham waited upon Prince Albert, May 28, 1845, at Buckingham Palace, for the purpose of appealing to Her Majesty, through His Royal Highness, to take into gracious consideration the then depressed condition of the operative jewellers of Birmingham, and entreating the Queen and Prince to set the example of wearing British jewellery on such occasions and to such an extent as might meet the royal approval. The deputation took with them as presents for the Queen, an armlet, a brooch, a pair of ear-rings, and a buckle for the waist; for the Prince Consort a watch-chain, seal, and key, the value of the whole being over 400 guineas. The armlet (described by good judges as the most splendid thing ever produced in the town) brooch, ear-rings, chain and key were made by Mr. Thomas Aston, Regent's Place; the buckle and seal (designed from the Warwick vase) by Mr. Baleny, St. Paul's Square. It was stated by the deputation that 5,000 families were dependent on the jewellery trades in Birmingham.

Although metal pens were known to the Romans, and a few had been made in Europe in the 18th century a cheap, efficient slip-in nib did not come into common use until Josiah Mason improved existing models and began large-scale production in 1828 at Brum.

In the 1850's Birminghams Jewellery Quarter had become the World's centre for the steel pen 's and steel nib's trade, employing thousands of people, and pioneering craftsmanship, manufacturing processes and employment opportunities for women. The availability of cheap pens enabled the development of education and literacy throughout the world.

The Esterbrook organisation was created in 1856 by a Cornish Quaker, Mr. Richard Esterbrook . He was a stationer by trade and had seen in Britain the move from handcut quill pens to the steel nibs with their consequent advantages. He was also a wise businessman with an eye for opportunity and saw that there was no steel nib manufacturer in the U.S.A., a vast expanding potential market, and he therefore recruited five craftsmen from the John Mitchell factory in Newhall Street, Birmingham, and set up operations in the town of Camden, New Jersey, U.S.A. The initial company was named the United States Steel Pen Manufacturing Company, later being changed to the Esterbrook Steel Pen Manufacturing Company . Detailed attention to the market's needs and a population explosion led the company from strength to strength until at the end of the century, Esterbrook vied with Perry & Co. as to who was the largest manufacturer of pen nibs in the world.

By 1896, the Company saw further expansion possibilities in the United Kingdom and therefore appointed as their U.K. agents Hazell, Watson, and Viney, Limited. Development of the product range continued apace and, whereas steel pen nibs had been used with the traditional ink wells , making the necessary accessories rather cumbersome, 1920 saw Esterbrook introduce a fountain pen, with, its own self-contained ink supply.

R. Esterbrook & Co. made fountain pens during the first portion of the 20th century, but they were far better known for their dip pens and points, which they had been making since before the American Civil War.

The origins of the Esterbrook craftsmen were to return to Birmingham when U.K. Government regulations in 1928 led to restrictions on the import of products from the United States, and a licensing arrangement was made with John Mitchell's in Birmingham to make Esterbrook Pens in the United Kingdom, Mitchell's having transferred their operations to a new factory in Moland Street in 1912. Hazell, Watson, and Viney, Limited continued as selling agents and introduced the Esterbrook Fountain Pen into Britain in 1930. Although Fountain Pens had been widely available for many years, it wasn't until that year that Esterbrook felt that they had a nib material which would produce a truly practical pen and replace the gold and jewel tips. This material was the precious metal Iridium used under the trade name of Durachrome . Again such an immensely successful product range that the company was reorganised to meet the demand as Esterbrook Hazell Pens, Ltd.

Battle of Britain hostilities curtailed production to some extent, and the night of November 19-20, 1940, saw the Moland Street factory struck by incendiary bombs on the Bagot Street side. (An anecdote of the time is that the fire-fighting party was having some success with a human bucket chain of water when inadvertently a bucket of paraffin used for degreasing nibs was passed along...). Unusually, the wing was rebuilt while the War was still on, but on the condition that 50% of the premises were given over to government departments, one being rather appropriately the Stationery Office and the other the Defence Department where ammunition from the Kynoch Works at Witton was assayed.

In 1947 the Company bought out John Mitchell (this company having been established in 1822 as the world's first manufacturer to cut nibs by machine) and the American Esterbrook Company acquired Hazell pens, the total organisation becoming The Esterbrook Pen Co. The post-war years had seen a decline in particularly the export trade to the traditional markets of the British Empire, as those countries had gained independence and, due to American aid, had more dollars to spend in the States on products than pounds in the United Kingdom. Development work continued to reverse the significant fall-off in business, and the years 1960 to 1967 saw a steady introduction of the Mark I versions of the products we know today: Valve Marker, Watercolour, Colourstick, Notewriter, and Permanent Pen, all under the Gem brand name.

1953 saw Esterbrook America take over Cushman & Denison, who had launched the Flo-Master refillable marker in 1951, and in 1960 Esterbrook Pens and Cushman & Denison in the U.K. were merged.

The year 1967 saw the Esterbrook Pen Company worldwide taken over by the Venus Pencil Company and the formation of Venus Esterbrook. Production continued in Birmingham, with a gradual move of administration and manufacturing to the much newer factory of Venus in King's Lynn. The Birmingham building was finally vacated in March 1972 but is still standing.

Esterbrook pens had mainly steel points and nickel plated trim, nevertheless, they were built from quality materials with great attention to detail.

During the first half of the 20th century Swan Pens opened a large gold pen making factory in the city taking advantage of the skilled Gold workers, around this time Osmiroid International had a large production plant in the city with the Yard-O-led company in production also.

Some sources suggest that until about 1854-55 a select Birmingham jewellery elite produced excellent quality goods, however many imitators set up business hoping to make a similar wage as a by-product of the steel trade but their wares were not always of such high standard. The manufacturers learned that work well designed sold even better than the old-styled less atractive wares. A great advance took place during the late 1800's, at which point Birmingham jewellers stood foremost in all matters of taste and design, the workmen of the period ranking as artists, even the commonest gilt jewellery turned out by the workforce being of high-class design and frequently of most elaborate workmanship.

In 1885 the trade was in a very depressed condition, thousands of hands being out of employment or on short time.

It has been estimated that not more than one-half of the silver jewellery manufactured in Birmingham in 1883, passed through the Assay Office, but the total received there in the twelve months ending June 24th, 1883, amounted to no less than 856,180 ounces, or 31 tons 17 cwt. 4 lbs. 4 oz., the gold wares received during same period weighing 92,195 ounces, or 3 tons 7 cwt. 12 lbs. 3 oz., the total number of articles sent in for assaying being 2,649,379.

The directory of 1780 gave the names of twenty-six jewellers; that of 1880 gave nearly 700, including cognate trades.

The Silver and Gold manufatured in the city around this period was of exceptionally high quality with its own hallmark, these products are now very collectable.

The Birmingham Mint flourished in the city and today the Jewellery Quarter is a thriving area of modern jewellery design companies and workshops as well as the Pig Peg arts centre.

Today one third of the jewellery manufactured in the UK is made within one mile of Birmingham city centre.

The jewellery quarter is now the largest concentration of dedicated jewellers in Europe.

External Links

The Birmingham Pen Trade Heritage Association and Museum

Official Jewellery Quarter site

Museum of the Jewellery Quarter

Explore the Birmingham Jewellery Quarter

Jewellery shop history