The Building, Business and The Trade

The Building

• In 1877-78, it cost £9,448 to build the first part of the Assay Office on the present site in Birmingham. But owing to the rapid increase in business it soon proved too small, and the first extension was added in 1885 at a cost of £1,988.
• Telephones were installed in 1885, and the gas lighting was replaced with electric lights in 1890. Further alterations were made, to create more space in 1895, 1899, 1907 and 1914.
• In 1972, following intensive discussions with the City Council in the 1960s regarding a possible move to the heart of a redeveloped Jewellery Quarter, which was subsequently abandoned, it was agreed to add another storey to the building.
• This provided another 5,278 square feet and represented great foresight on the part of the Guardians as the number of articles handled each year rose from 5 million in 1972 to 9.8 million in 1979 .

Opening Hours

• The Office’s opening hours gradually increased to meet demand from the Trade. In 1848, it was open on Mondays and Thursdays; an average of eleven and twenty-two tradespeople brought goods in for assaying on these days respectively.
• It is estimated that 20,000 people were employed in the Birmingham Jewellery Trade in the 1860's, focused on the area around St Paul's Square and the current site of the Assay Office. Typical working hours were from 8.00am to 7.00pm, with an hour and a quarter for dinner and half an hour for tea.
• In 1895, the Assay Office began to open five days a week. Work could only be received between 9.00 and 9.30 am or 4.00 and 5.00pm, but on payment of a late fee of one shilling per parcel goods could also be received between 11.00 and 11.30am.

Production Statistics

• On its first working day, August 31st 1773, the Birmingham Assay Office hallmarked about 200 articles.
• In its first full year of activity the Birmingham Assay Office assayed and hallmarked 16,983 ounces of silverware. In 1811, hallmarking in Birmingham exceeded 100,000 ounces for the first time.
• Productivity at the Assay Office is as seasonal as the trade it serves. On its busiest day ever recorded, the Birmingham Assay Office achieved the hallmarking of 100,000 articles in just one day.
• From January 1953 to March 1954, 506,864 articles were marked with the special Coronation commemorative mark at the Birmingham Assay Office, while 295,838 were marked at the other five Offices together.

The Jewellery Trade

• In 1845, when business was declining, the Birmingham Trade sent a delegation to Queen Victoria & Prince Albert. They took Birmingham made jewellery and petitioned the Queen to set an example by wearing Birmingham made items.
• A survey conducted in 1906 amongst members of the British Jewellers & Silversmiths' Association recorded that 56 members did not export at all, but 203 exported to Commonwealth countries, 20 to the USA, and a handful to European countries. 71 reported importing goods from Germany.
• Since 1773, there have been only twelve Assay Masters at the Birmingham Assay Office, including the current Assay Master, Michael Allchin. The longest serving of these was Arthur Westwood, an employee of the Office for 69 years.