Assay Office Birmingham recently held an exclusive tour around its historic home as part of the Birmingham Hidden Spaces initiative. Visitors were first given a talk on the history of the Assay Office and shown images of the new building before watching a short film which explained in more detail what is going on in the Jewellery Quarter at the moment, in terms of manufacture, and a resume of the work of the Assay Office. Attendees were  given an 'access all areas' tour of the…

Assay Office Birmfingham is looking forward to welcoming 20 lucky participants on the Hidden Spaces tour around its current historic home on Tuesday 2nd June.

Not long to go now until construction work of the new building is complete and a brand new era can begin for Assay Office Birmingham!

Treatments There are five main ways in which a pearl can be treated and each has its own tell-tale signs that a gemmologist will look for when assessing a pearl. Staining and dyeing Irradiation Coating Filling Doctoring To find out more about these treatments click HERE.   Quick Facts  Chemical Composition: Calcium carbonate, conchiolin (conchin), water Specific Gravity: 2.60 – 2.78 Mohs Hardness: 2.50-3.50, compact structure   Send your pearls to Anc…