Birmingham Stone

About Birmingham Stone Cutting

Birmingham Stone Cutting is a family run jewellers in the famous Birmingham Jewellery Quarter, established in 1966 run by Lisa and Pat Bailey. 

We specialise in creating bespoke jewellery and hand made pieces that are beautiful and individual. Our trade services: Bespoke jewellery design Jewellery repairs Jewellery valuations Gemstone identification Diamond certification 

Our love of exquisite jewellery and vast experience means we are experts in gemstone identification and diamond certification, and are Fellow (FGA) and Diamond (DGA) members of The Gemmological Association of Great Britain. We are also well known for our antique and vintage jewellery repairs, both for the trade and public. 

Here at Birmingham Stone Cutting we undertake all sorts of jewellery repairs that bring old or damaged treasures back to life! These are just some of the typical antique & vintage jewellery restoration we carry out; 

• Polishing out gemstone chips 
• Band resizing Ring polishing 
• Clasp repairs 
• Gemstone matching and replacement

If you have something that you’d like to get an estimate on repairing please pop in and see us. We’re more than happy to advise you on the price and time it will take to return your treasure to its formal glory. 

For many of our customers the value of their jewellery is far greater than its monetary value. It has sentimental value, and this is something we can never put a price on. However, we can help you value your jewellery to ensure that should you need to replace it, you have a document of its value, enabling you to purchase a replacement. 

Valuing a piece of jewellery is a difficult task and requires expert knowledge and a significant amount of experience. Something we have in abundance here at Birmingham Stone Cutting! 

Lisa does all our independent valuations and we pride ourselves on our excellent personal service. If you have any questions about your valuation you can talk to Lisa direct. There is no such thing as a silly question. 

We believe in keeping things simple, which is way we have just two types of valuation – Basic and Premium. Basic valuation A basic jewellery valuation includes a comprehensive description and valuation for one item. Premium valuation A premium jewellery valuation includes a comprehensive description and valuation for one expensive / large item. This service includes Diamond Grading. If you have any questions about valuations please call us on 0121 236 1418, or visit our shop on Augusta Street in the Birmingham Jewellery Quarter. Gemstone identification.

We love gemstones here at Birmingham Stone Cutting. A diamond may be a girl’s best friend, but as far as we are concerned gemstones of any shape and colour fascinate us. Our Gemologist Lisa is a member of the The Gemmological Association of Great Britain, and has been identifying gems for over 20 years. Gemstone identification is a specialised job. 

Here at Birmingham Stone Cutting we use a variety of techniques to establish the identity of gems depending on a variety of factors i.e. loose or in a setting. For those of you who’d like to understand a little more about what we do and how we do it, we’ve included some interesting info below. Gemstone Group/Family Classification 

There are 16 mineral gemstone groups based on their chemical composition / crystal structure. The 16 groups are: 

• Tourmaline 
• Spinel 
• Diamond 
• Peridot 
• Quartz 
• Feldspar 
• Zircon 
• Corundum 
• Chrysoberyl 
• Beryl 
• Jade 
• Topaz 
• Granet 
• Opal 
• Lapis Lazuli 
• Turquoise

Refractive Index Refractive Index (RI) is one of the most important characteristcs of a gemstone. Measuring the RI is one of the first steps we perform in identifying a gemstone, although some gemstones have very similar refractive indices, additional tests are sometimes required for a definitive identification. 

Specific Gravity Gems vary greatly in their density, this is why two gemstones may weigh the same but differ in size. All gemstones have a specific gravity and gemstones can be tested to determine their specific gravity or relative density. Mohs Scale of Mineral Hardness 

The hardness of a gem can be measured by its scratch resistance. This is done by testing the ability of a harder material to scratch a softer material. The Mohs scale was developed in 1812 by the German geologist and mineralogist Friedrich Mohs. The hardest mineral in the Mohs scale of mineral hardness is Diamond and the softest is Talc. 

The number next to each mineral defines rank only, not relative hardness. For example, corundum (9) is twice as hard as topaz (8). 

Birmingham Stonecutting are pleased to offer a 10% discount on our services to subscribing Gold members of The Guild of Jewellery Designers.