The Jewellery Quarter is an area of Birmingham, England. Situated in the south of the Hockley area of the city centre, there is a population of around 3,000 people in a 1.07-square-kilometre (264-acre) area.
The Jewellery Quarter is Europe's largest concentration of businesses involved in the jewellery trade, which produce 40% of all the jewellery made in the UK. It is also home to the world's largest Assay Office, which hallmarks around 12 million items a year. Historically the Jewellery Quarter has been the birthplace of many pioneering advancements in industrial technology. At its peak in the early 1900s the Jewellery Quarter employed over 30,000 people, however due to foreign competition and lack of demand, the industry declined throughout the 20th century. The area is now being transformed into an urban village and hub for creative businesses, whilst maintaining its urban fabric. Its historical importance has led to numerous conservation schemes and it is an Anchor Point of the European Route of Industrial Heritage.
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Famous quotes containing the word quarter:
“The most winning woman I ever knew was hanged for poisoning three little children for their insurance-money, and the most repellent man of my acquaintance is a philanthropist who has spent nearly a quarter of a million upon the London poor.”
—Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859–1930)