Golden Opportunities: Jewelry Making in Birmingham between Mass Production and Specialty

Abstract

Narratives of flexible specialization as an alternative to mass production are largely absent from the industrial history of twentieth-century Britain. In this article, I challenge the notion that we should relegate small firms and industrial districts to a marginal place in the historiography of this period. Drawing from a range of sources, I explore the history of Birmingham's jewelry makers to show how they adapted the traditional productive system of the district to respond in a dynamic way to the challenges of rapid product market differentiation. As jewelry increasingly became a commodity for mass consumption, the firms in the Birmingham district used a combination of specialty and mass production as a strategy to both satisfy and create demand.

Gender, craft labour and the creative sector

“…Referred to collectively as 'toys', artisans made small personal items such as buckles, buttons, boxes, trinkets and jewellery in workshops based in their living accommodation. During its Edwardian heyday, the area employed over 50,000 people (Carnivali, 2003). By 2005, 'employment had fallen to 3102' (Bryson and Taylor, 2008: 8).…”

“…During the Victorian period, Queen Victoria's taste for ornamentation made jewellery socially acceptable and created markets for the expanding middle class both in the UK and the colonies. During the 1960s, producers also capitalised on the growth of trade in engagement rings which followed the highly successful de Beers 'A diamond is forever' campaign (Carnivali, 2003). Primarily the area is known for its 'value for money' products where you can bypass the middleman and buy direct.…”

“…As one policy development agency employee put it "They [designer makers] are never going to employ hundreds of people". Such a remark calls forth a past when the largest manufacturers in the area had up to four hundred employees (Carnivali, 2003). Yet, as Carnivali notes, these large firms were mainly concerned with the factoring processes associated with jewellery production rather than making jewellery themselves.…”

“…Since the early decades of the twentieth century, policy has been directed toward mass production and hence toward policy concerns with enhancing large scale employment and profit. Small manufacturing of the kind that is the mark of craft business has, in consequence, been viewed as a pre-modern relic of the past (Carnivali, 2003). Yet new economic forms of production have been created in response to deindustrialisation (Bryson and Taylor, 2008).…”

British Business History: A Review of the Periodical Literature for 2003

“…In this respect, Carnevali's study both complements and extends the pioneering work of Piore and Sabel. 48 For an earlier period, Burt analysed the importance of freemasonry in business networking during the Victorian period. This study, which is concerned with the central mining districts of Cornwall, emphasised the comparative neglect of fraternity and benevolent associations and demonstrated that the solemn oaths sworn by these freemasons were important in establishing exceptional trust relationships which were vital in this high-risk industry.…”