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PRIVACY
Manufacturing

MP calls for Assay Office meeting over anchor hallmark concerns

Bosses from the city’s famous Jewellery Quarter claim the sector is being sold down the river after Birmingham Assay Office announced it was opening a Mumbai base

The anchor hallmark has been used in Birmingham for nearly 250 years

Ladywood MP Shabana Mahmood has called for a meeting with the Assay Office after it announced it would be .

Bosses from the city’s famous claim the sector is being sold down the river after announced it was opening a Mumbai base.

They are concerned that by using the anchor hallmark, which has been pressed onto Birmingham silverware since 1773, will now be stamped in the subcontinent.

Labour MP Ms Mahmood, whose constituency includes the Jewellery Quarter, said: “The Jewellery Quarter is a very special district in Birmingham making a unique contribution to its economy and culture.

“There are hundreds of jewellers in the city and I want that to continue.

“Anything that could impact detrimentally concerns me. I have asked for a meeting with the Master of the Assay Office to to discuss this issue.”

Shabana Mahmood, Labour MP for Birmingham Ladywood

Directors of 15 silver and jewellery businesses in the region said the move threatened jobs by harming the authenticity of Birmingham-made products.

Bosses of LJ Millington, The Harwicke Collection and BDG Manufacturers were among those to raise concerns.