Here you can also have your jewellery insured and valuated, repaired or alerted by local craftsman. I was amazed when I first went here at the amount of shops that sold Jewellery. They are all together along the a few of the streets in the Quarter. There are many bargains to be had if your after a unique piece of jewellery. Most shops usually have a sale on and if you are looking to buy Diamonds then you must visit here as they have a wide selection and all of them are certified.

The shops that are here are not ones that you will find anywhere else as they are independent, many of them making their own pieces to be sold. They are quite happy to alter any of their pieces for you and are very happy to show you items that you are after. Some of the shops have very high security and most of them have a buzzer to press before they will let you in.

Some shops specialise in either Gold, Sliver or Diamonds but there are many that also do all three. I have brought a really nice necklace and matching bracelet from a shop called "Stone" which does all Silver modern jewellery at reasonable prices. I buy most of my jewellery from here as it's unique and different from shop brought jewellery.

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PRECIOUS METALS
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Before you go shopping for your jewellery and the Quarter it's nice to know about the metal and the gems that you are buying so you know what you are buying and whether or not it's a good price.

Gold
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This of course is perhaps one of the most popular metal to be brought in jewellery.
It has been used throughout the centuries, even the Egyptians used it!
Gold is used in jewellery as it's very easy to shape and make into different shapes and as it doesn't rust or alter when it comes into contact with air or any other metal it is ideal for the purpose of jewellery. Gold lasts for years and years, if you have been lucky enough to go to the Egyptian museum in Cairo then you will see some very old pieces of jewellery that where made of gold that have lasted thousands of years.

When buying gold jewellery look for the purity of the metal. This is made up and measured in carats. 24 carat jewellery is pure gold and looks a richer colour than 18 carat or 9 carat as these are less pure gold and contain other metals.
Obviously 24 carat will cost far more than 9 carat.

Silver
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Silver is a much softer metal than gold making it is a good metal for jewellery. It is much cheaper than gold, and like gold it too as been used for centuries for decorative purposes.

When you see a label that says "Sterling silver" this means that the content of silver in the metal is 92.5% of total piece. You should see on the inside of the jewellery piece a stamp that says 925.

Platinum
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This has only just become more popular and is it far more expensive than gold.
It looks very similar to silver.

It was found in the 16th century in Columbia but now most of the worlds platinum comes from South Africa. Unlike gold it comes in it's purest form.

If you are visiting the Quarter to buy Diamonds then my advice would be to do some research into Diamonds before buying so you know what to look for. Here is some general information about Diamonds.

Carats
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Diamonds are measured in Carats like Gold is.
Obviously the bigger the diamond the more expensive it will be as it will be more Carats.

Sometimes Diamonds are measured in points which is quite confusing but it's fairly easy if you know that 100 points is equal to one Carat. So 50 points is half a Carat.

But if you see a massive diamond don't automatically think that this is the best one as it's not often the case. Just because the diamond is 2 Carats, doesn't mean that the diamond is any better than a one Carat diamond. You should take other factors into account.

Clarity
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This is how pure the diamond is and will determine how glittery the stone is.
Diamonds can contain other particles and these affect the value and appearance.
External flaws are known as blemishes and internal imperfections are known as inclusions.

If a diamond has many flaws then it will be less valuable as it will affect the stones appearance.
Jewellers have a grading system to grade diamonds according to the stones flaws.

A Grade F stone is free from all inclusions or blemishes and so is perfect and will be very expensive to buy.

Grade IF Internally Flawless means that there are no inclusions visible to the naked eye.

V V S1 grade means that the stone contains very tiny particles but they will be difficult to see.

S1These inclusions will be visible to the naked eye and will look like pieces of dirt within the stone.

S2 Noticeable inclusions that are very easy to locate on looking at the stone.

I1 This grade means that there are very obvious inclusions within the stone.

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Colour
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Again the colour of the diamond will affect its value and appearance and Jewellers have another grading system to grade diamonds. They use the alphabetic scale and it starts from
D which is a colourless diamond, which is the best you can to Z which the diamond will be yellow in appearance.

Cut
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This is the shape that the diamond is cut into giving it sparkle and glittery effect. There is Princess, Baguette, Emerald, Heart cuts of diamond and many more.

If you choose a diamond with a good grade of colour and clarity then the cut shouldn't affect the value. Its personal opinion if you prefer round to square diamonds.

So is it just jewellery you can buy here?
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As well as many of the shops selling jewellery, you can also buy glass ware, clothes and gifts from many shops. There is also a beauty clinic here call the Bio-Skin Therapy Clinic. The Hockley Tanning Centre is here too so you can be bronzed and beautiful with your flash new jewellery.

The Jewellery Quarter is also becoming the next trendy place to go for alternative night life for the city of Birmingham.

There is The Jam House which holds venues for Soul music. To find who's playing at the Jam house then visit their website www.thejamhouse.com

Or for your average pub environment there is the Red Lion and the Rose Villa Tavern. I would recommend the Red Lion for it's great beer and fab pub grub.

If you are wanting something to eat during the day of your visit then check out Avon Sandwich Bar for some great, cheap sarnies! I always get my Bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich from here. There is also a Fryer Tuck Cafe near by.

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What else is there to do?
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The Jewellery Quarter offers many historical places of interest for you to visit to learn about the history of Birmingham's industrial revolution.

The Toy Shop Of Europe
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Not to be confused with a children's toy shop! This is the place where local craftsman manufactured of a wide range of small items made from steel, such as buttons, buckles and brooches and various trinkets that complimented the thriving jewellery Quarter. I have been round here and it's very interesting if you have the guided tour which talks you through what work went on here and the methods they used.

The Birmingham Mint
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This is the building where Matthew Boulton set up Birmingham's coinage factory. It was a revolutionary factory as he used steam to operate the machinery needed to make coins. There is also the Matthew Boulton College in Birmingham which was named after him for having such an inportant part in the industrial revolution.

The Chamberlain Clock
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If you can see the Chamberlain clock then you know that you are in the Jewellery Quarter. It is a well known landmark and it dates back to 1903 in honour of was erected in 1903 in honour of Joseph Chamberlain, MP for the area in the late 1900's.

Overall I would recommend going to the Jewellery Quarter as there really is no other place quite like it. It has shops, history and culture to admire. Once you have seen the selection of jewellery this place has to offer you won't want to buy from any other place than here.