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IDEA Birmingham - a business-university collaboration promoting design-driven innovation - recently announced the shortlisted nominations in its inaugural Birmingham Made Me Design Awards. The Awards ceremony will take place on 22^nd June 2012 in Birmingham's Mailbox and will be the culmination of Birmingham's first week long Design Expo in over 100 years. The Birmingham Assay Office will join around 100 other exhibitors from business and education as well as a 'Design Fringe' programme including over 20 art and design seminars, events and activities.Â The EXPO provides an ambitious line up looking to stimulate fresh thinking.Â The Expo is Free for all and open to everyone.Â As well as promoting the region's Best Brands through the newly launched Birmingham Made Me Design Awards, with winners being selected by the public through an online vote, the Design EXPO provides an opportunity to view the many prestigious, authentic brands being produced in the Midlands. Dr Vince Cable, MP, Secretary of State, Business Innovation and Skills, applauded the work being led by Birmingham City University and supported by leading Midlands businesses in organising the Birmingham Made Me Design EXPO to foster greater levels of collaboration between higher education, the design and manufacturing communities which have formed the backbone of the Birmingham and Midlands economy. Dr Cable said, "We welcome the inaugural Birmingham Made Me Design EXPO and Awards especially given its aims to highlight the importance of design-led manufacturing in Birmingham and the Midlands and the role this region has played through design in improving the quality of life for people around the world."

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Commenting on The Birmingham Assay Officeâs nomination Michael Allchin, Chief Executive and Assay Master said: âInnovation, Independence and Integrity are what we have always been about and always will be. The Birmingham Assay Office has invested heavily in high tech equipment and the highly skilled experts to use it.Â We would not have survived for over two centuries without continual innovation and in the current difficult trading conditions it is more important than ever.Â We are delighted and honoured to have been recognized with this nomination.â NOMINATIONS Shortlist for Best Brand 2012 representing Birmingham - the Original Design City Â The Birmingham Assay Office AGA Aston Martin Cadbury Codemasters Ikon Gallery Jaguar JCB Marmite Paul Smith Poundland The Royal Shakespeare Company, RSC Winners will be decided by Public Online Vote and they will choose their favourite Midlands Brands across four Awards categories from 15^th May - 20^th June with the winners being announced at the Birmingham Made Me Design 'Oscars-style' ceremony at the Mailbox on evening 22^nd June (by invitation only). The Birmingham Assay Office - Nomination The Birmingham Assay Office, now the largest Assay Office in the world, was established following Matthew Boulton's personal intervention in lobbying Parliament in 1773. At the time silversmithing was booming and manufacturers, including Boulton's Soho Manufactory, were having to send all items produced to Chester for hallmarking. Boulton, having teamed up with the Sheffield Cutlers, asserted the case for a new Assay office requiring an Act of Parliament. Staying at the 'Crown & Anchor' on the Strand, a coin was tossed, so the story goes, to determine that Birmingham -- miles from the sea - should adopt the 'Anchor' as its hallmark, with Sheffield taking the 'Crown'. The 1773 Act established the Birmingham Assay Office as self-supporting, making its revenues from charges on assaying and today six million articles of gold, silver or platinum are tested every year prior to be hallmarked. It has developed into an independent centre of quality assessment and expert opinion for precious and base metals, gemstones, fine and costume jewellery and fashion accessories employing around 140 people in the Jewellery Quarter, which reputedly accounts for up to 60% of UK jewellery output. A 'not for distributed profit' organisation, it has invested heavily in sophisticated equipment and highly trained staff to ensure that it remains a leader in its own field, recently becoming the first Assay Office in the world to receive Responsible Jewellery Council certification for meeting their ethical, human rights, social and environmental standards. THE BIRMINGHAM ASSAY OFFICE â OVERVIEWÂ The Birmingham Assay Office has a long established reputation within the jewellery trade. Founded by an Act of Parliament in 1773, with a statutory duty to assay and hallmark precious metal articles, Birmingham is now the largest Assay Office in the UK. Through innovation and investment it has developed over the centuries into an independent centre of quality assessment and expert opinion for precious and base metals, gemstones, fine and costume jewellery and fashion accessories. The Birmingham Assay Office is the last surviving enterprise with which the Eighteenth century entrepreneur Matthew Boulton was involved. It has a rich and fascinating history and offers a living and vibrantÂ legacy to the ambitions of its founder.Â Â The continued survival and successful growth of The Assay Office is dependent on four factors which have always been fundamental to its existence; independence, expertise, integrity and innovation. In the past decade The Birmingham Assay Office has expanded its services significantly, whilst remaining a champion of high quality standards for the precious metal, gemstone and fine and costume jewellery trade. Itsâ services focus on fast, accurate analysis, expert opinion, and assurance that items are compliant with relevant legislation. A ânot for distributed profitâ organization, The Birmingham Assay has invested heavily and courageously in sophisticatedÂ equipment and highly trained staff to ensure that each of its five operating divisions is a leader in its own field. Hallmarking Five million articles of gold, silver, platinum or palladium a year are hallmarked in Birmingham, to confirm that they contain the required amount of precious metal, as required by the Hallmarking Act 1973. Methods have had to change to accommodate the shift in the market, particularly the influx of finished goods made in the Far East. In addition to traditional methods, The Assay Office uses state of the art technology to perform non destructive assay by X Ray Fluorescence (XRF), and low impact hallmarking by laser. Four innovative new divisions have been developed since 1999: The Laboratory is the UKâs leading test house for Precious Metal Analysis and Nickel, Lead and Cadmium Compliance to the REACH Directive and is UKAS accredited to ISO 17025.Â An Organic laboratory was developed in 2011, providing the facilities to test textiles for colour fastness, flammability and fibre composition among other things. The Laboratory carries out analysis for all sectors of the fine jewellery, costume jewellery and fashion accessory industry. It also works with suppliers of medical products and those recycling precious metals amongst others. SafeGuard Valuations are the leading brand of independent jewellery, watch and silverware valuations in the UK with a network of over 1,200 retailers offering the service, including the major multiples. Most of this appraisal work is carried out within the Assay Office. SafeGuard valuers have unrivalled expertise in assessing jewellery, watches and silverware. AnchorCert Gemstone Certification has developed into a major new brand in the jewellery trade. Thousands of diamonds, coloured gemstones and natural pearls are identified and certificated every year, offering verification and reassurance to the trade and the consumer. The Birmingham Assay Office is one of few facilities in the world that can identify synthetic and treated diamonds and other gemstones. AnchorCert is UKAS accredited to ISO 17025. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="99" caption="Gemstone weight App"][/caption] The AnchorCert Gemstone Weight Estimator App, developed in 2011, applies well established formulae to assess the estimated weight of a mounted gemstone. Pawnbrokers, Antique dealers and potential buyers have only to put the measurements of the stone into their mobile device to arrive at a reliable estimated weight, thanks to AnchorCertâs innovative approach. Heritage and Training The independent expertise within the Assay Office team has a commercial value of its own which is now being realized via targeted Training Courses to the trade and to the public. The Heritage of Birminghamâs oldest institution and the legacy of Matthew Boulton is leveraged to maintain awareness of the importance of hallmarking and to support the ongoing significance of Birminghamâsâ Jewellery Quarter as a specialist centre of excellence.
Birmingham Made Me Awards - Best Brand FROM 15^th MAY Please vote for The Birmingham Assay Office - From the oldest form of consumer protection to the latest innovative gemmological APP - this organisation has had for nearly 250 years, Independence, Integrity and Innovation stamped on its Heart.Â It truly does bear the Hallmark of Birmingham.Â Â Click on the link and vote BAOÂ Â Â http://www.ideabirmingham.co.uk/shortlist.aspx The Birmingham Made Me Design EXPO runs from 15^th - 22^nd June at the Mailbox Birmingham
Key Design EXPO facts:

Over 100 exhibitors will be showcasing their designs

11 Design Zones will be open to view in the Mailbox Birmingham including Interiors and Lifestyle (x2), Jewellery & Accessories, Art & Visual Design, Gamer Camp and Future Media, Birmingham Made Me Entrepreneurs Store, Design Archives & Heritage, Auto & Engineering (x2), Architecture and Fashion& Performance.

It is Birmingham's first Design EXPO in over 100 years

The new hybrid super car concept, the Jaguar C-X75, will be on display for the first time in Britain at the Mailbox Birmingham

Dunlop plans to feature its TT Competition Motorbike outside the Mailbox under the flyover and developing a Dunlop Birmingham Made Me commemorative tyre

Applied artist Dorota Grabkowska will develop and complete her interactive Art installation- 'What Made Me?' during the Design EXPO. It is a concept based around a large scale visualisation of non numerical information generated by members of the public through their participation in creating it.

Craftspace Collective, well-known for providing participative arts activities at the Clothes Show Live, festivals , arts events and activities, will be leading collaborative artworks in the Mailbox from 1-4pm on Friday 15^th and Saturday 16^th June

The public will be able to vote online to select their favourite Midlands Brands across four Awards categories from 15^th May - 20^th June with the winners being announced at the Birmingham Made Me Design 'Oscars-style' ceremony at the Mailbox on evening 22^nd June (by invitation only). An Award will also be presented for Lifetime Achievement in the fields of design and innovation.