In 2025, Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter was declared a World Craft City by the World Crafts Council - one of only a handful of places on the planet to receive that designation. For those of us who live and work here, the announcement felt long overdue. The Quarter has been producing some of Britain’s finest jewellery for more than two centuries. But for couples searching for a bespoke engagement ring in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter, the designation matters in a very practical way: it confirms that when you commission a piece here, you are placing your trust in a craft tradition that the world has formally recognised.
I am Hamed Arabi, founder of Silux London, and I have been based in the Jewellery Quarter since 2017. This guide is my honest account of what the Quarter is, why it matters, and what you should know before choosing a designer to create your most important piece of jewellery.
The Birmingham Jewellery Quarter - Over 200 Years of Craft
The Jewellery Quarter’s story begins in the late eighteenth century, when a concentration of skilled metalworkers and craftspeople settled in the St Paul’s area of Birmingham. By the Victorian era it was producing jewellery for the entire British Empire - rings, brooches, watch chains, and sovereign cases flowing from hundreds of workshops crammed into a few square miles of the city. At its height, the Quarter employed over 30,000 people across workshops, factories, and jewellery houses of every size.
Today, more than 40 per cent of all jewellery manufactured in the United Kingdom still originates from this small corner of Birmingham. The infrastructure that supports it - the Assay Office, specialist tool suppliers, stone traders, casting houses, polishing shops - has been built up over generations. It is not something you can replicate overnight, or in a studio elsewhere.
The Museum of the Jewellery Quarter, housed in a perfectly preserved factory that closed in 1981 with everything left exactly as it was on the last working day, gives visitors a visceral sense of what this place was and still is. Walking through it, you understand that the craft knowledge embedded in these streets did not arrive through a short course or an online tutorial. It was passed from hand to hand, bench to bench, over two hundred years.
The World Craft City designation in 2025 did not create that heritage. It simply made it official. For couples considering a bespoke engagement ring in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter, it is one more reason to feel confident that the address on a jeweller’s workshop card actually means something.
Why Choose a Jewellery Quarter Designer Over Online or High Street?
I understand the appeal of buying online. The images are polished, the prices look competitive, and you never have to leave the house. But there are things an online purchase cannot give you - and for a piece as significant as an engagement ring, those things matter considerably.
You meet the person making it
When you commission a bespoke engagement ring in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter, you sit down with the designer. You can ask every question you have about the metal, the stone, the setting. You can see work they have made before. You can judge whether they understand what you are looking for. That relationship - between maker and client - is the foundation of a piece you will wear every day for the rest of your life.
You can verify the craftsmanship
Every piece of gold, silver, or platinum jewellery sold in the UK above a certain weight must be hallmarked by an Assay Office. Birmingham’s Assay Office, founded in 1773, is one of four in the country. Its anchor mark is one of the most recognised hallmarks in the world. When your ring carries that mark, it has been independently tested and certified - not simply described as 18ct gold on a product listing. A JQ designer can walk you to the Assay Office if you want to understand the process firsthand.
You invest in real provenance
A piece made in the Jewellery Quarter carries a story. Not a marketing story - a real one. The Quarter’s craftspeople have been making jewellery here longer than most countries have had formal hallmarking systems. That provenance has genuine value, and it will still have value in fifty years when you pass the piece on to someone you love.
High street jewellers, by contrast, are often selling pieces manufactured overseas to a price point. The designs are safe, the quality is controlled, but individuality is largely absent. If you want a ring that looks like the rings everyone else is wearing, the high street serves that purpose well. If you want something made specifically for one person, it does not.
“The Jewellery Quarter is not a heritage theme park. It is a working craft district that has been making fine jewellery longer than many countries have existed. That is worth understanding before you decide where to commission your most important piece.”
Silux London - A Unique Position in the Quarter
There are many skilled designers working in the Jewellery Quarter. I have learned from some of them and I have considerable respect for the craft tradition here. But Silux London occupies a particular position in the Quarter that no other studio does: we are the only fine jewellery designer in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter working from a Persian heritage.
That is not a superficial distinction. Persian decorative art has one of the longest continuous traditions in the world. The geometric patterns found in the tilework of Isfahan’s mosques, the arabesque motifs of Safavid metalwork, the delicate floral forms of Persian miniature painting - these are design languages with real depth and real rigour. Bringing them into contemporary fine jewellery, made to British craft standards in the Jewellery Quarter, is what Silux London does.
Our pieces are not “Persian-themed” in a superficial sense. They are rooted in a genuine visual heritage, interpreted for a modern wearer, and finished to the standards the Quarter demands. I believe there is nothing quite like it anywhere in British fine jewellery. You can explore the full range in our jewellery collections here.
My Credentials - Why It Matters Who Makes Your Ring
I came to the UK from Iran in July 2017 and enrolled immediately at the School of Jewellery, part of Birmingham City University. The School is one of the most respected jewellery education institutions in Europe, producing graduates who go on to work at the highest levels of the British and international trade. I trained there before setting up my own studio in the Quarter.
Before founding Silux London, I spent seven years in the new product development team at Britain’s largest fine jewellery manufacturer. That experience gave me a technical grounding in production at scale - understanding why certain designs survive the casting process cleanly, why some settings hold stones more securely than others, why construction matters as much as appearance. Designing something beautiful is one skill. Designing something that remains beautiful after years of daily wear is another, and the second one comes from time on the bench.
I have won three Goldsmiths’ Craft and Design Council Awards - in 2018, 2020, and 2024. The Goldsmiths’ Company is the London livery company that oversees the British jewellery trade, and the Award is one of the most respected in the industry. Three wins across six years reflects a sustained standard rather than a single strong entry.
In 2020, I was granted the UK Global Talent Visa - a category reserved for individuals who have demonstrated exceptional ability or promise in their field. It is assessed independently and not straightforward to obtain. In September 2025, I became a British citizen. This is home. These are the streets I work in, the craft tradition I am part of.
When you commission a bespoke engagement ring with Silux London, you are not dealing with a fulfilment operation or a brand with multiple designers. You are working directly with me. Every design decision, every CAD file, every casting approval - that is my work and my responsibility.
The Bespoke Process - From Consultation to Finished Ring
A bespoke commission with Silux London takes between six and eight weeks from first consultation to final delivery. That timeline is not a delay - it is the time required to make something properly. Here is what each stage involves.
Initial consultation
We begin with a conversation - in the studio, by video call, or by phone. I want to understand what you are looking for: the style, the occasion, any design references you have, the metal you are drawn to, the gemstones that interest you. I will also discuss your budget openly. There is no script and no sales pressure at this stage. The consultation is about understanding each other.
Design and CAD
Once we have agreed on a direction, I produce a detailed CAD (computer-aided design) rendering. This is a precise three-dimensional model of the ring, shown from multiple angles. You will be able to see exactly how it will look, adjust proportions, refine details. Nothing moves to production until you have approved the design in writing. That approval is your guarantee that the finished piece will match what you agreed.
Stone sourcing
If your piece includes a diamond or coloured gemstone, I source stones individually for each commission. I will present you with options - grading certificates, photographs, and my own assessment of each stone - and you choose the one that feels right. I work with trusted suppliers in the UK trade and will always show you the certificate before any stone is purchased.
Casting, setting, and finishing
Once the design is approved and the stone is selected, the metal is cast and hand-finished in our Jewellery Quarter workshop. The stone is set by hand. The piece is then polished to its final finish. I inspect it personally before it leaves the studio. If anything is not right, it does not leave.
Delivery
Your piece arrives in a Silux London presentation box, accompanied by a hallmark certificate from Birmingham Assay Office and, where relevant, a gemstone grading certificate from a recognised laboratory. If you are in Birmingham, you are welcome to collect in person from the studio.
Read more about how bespoke jewellery works in our full guide at our bespoke jewellery page.
What to Look For When Choosing a JQ Designer
The Jewellery Quarter has dozens of designers and workshops. Not all of them are the same. Here is what I would advise any couple to consider before committing to a commission.
Real hallmarking, clearly explained
Ask specifically where the piece will be hallmarked and which Assay Office mark it will carry. A Birmingham Assay Office anchor on your ring means it has been independently tested. A reputable JQ designer will explain this process clearly and without hesitation. If a designer cannot tell you which Assay Office they use, that is a concern.
Transparent stone sourcing
If your ring includes a diamond, ask for a grading certificate from GIA, IGI, or another recognised laboratory. Ask whether the diamond is natural or lab-grown, and whether the quoted price includes VAT. These are reasonable questions and a trustworthy jewellery quarter designer will answer them directly.
Work you can actually see
Ask to see photographs of previous commissions, ideally of pieces in a similar style to what you are looking for. A jeweller who cannot show you their work, or who can only show you stock images from a supplier, is worth approaching with caution.
A process that is explained clearly
The bespoke process should be set out in plain terms - what you will see at each stage, what approvals you will be asked to give, and what happens if you are not satisfied at any point. The CAD approval stage is particularly important: it means you will not see anything in metal that has not already been agreed in detail on screen.
A person, not a process
The best bespoke jewellery comes from a genuine relationship between client and designer. If the initial consultation feels transactional - if the designer is not asking questions about you and the person you are commissioning for - that is worth noting. A ring made with genuine attention to the people involved is a different object from one produced to a brief.
Starting Your Search for a Jewellery Quarter Designer
If you are considering a bespoke engagement ring in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter, the best first step is simply a conversation. You do not need to have made any decisions yet. You do not need to know exactly what you want. You just need to be open to the process - to understanding what is possible, what it costs, and who you feel comfortable working with.
The World Craft City designation is an invitation to take the Quarter seriously as a place to commission something significant. The craft knowledge, the infrastructure, the hallmarking tradition, and the community of skilled designers working here - these are genuine assets that benefit the people who commission jewellery from them.
At Silux London, I would rather spend an hour in conversation at the outset than rush through a commission that does not achieve what it should. If you are at the beginning of this process, I am happy to talk - with no obligation and no sales pitch. Browse our current work in the Silux London collection, or read about the bespoke process in more detail on our bespoke jewellery page.
When you are ready, the Quarter will be here. It has been here for two hundred years. It is not going anywhere.
Ready to begin a bespoke commission in the Birmingham Jewellery Quarter?
Book a consultation and let’s talk about what you have in mind.
About the author: Hamed Arabi is a jewellery designer and the founder of Silux London, based in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter. He trained at the School of Jewellery, Birmingham City University, spent seven years in the new product development team at Britain’s largest fine jewellery manufacturer, and is a three-time winner of the Goldsmiths’ Craft & Design Council Award (2018, 2020, 2024). In 2020 he was granted the UK Global Talent Visa and in 2025 became a British citizen. Silux London specialises in bespoke and made-to-order fine jewellery inspired by Persian heritage, hallmarked at Birmingham Assay Office.
