Best Uni to get a degree in jewelry and silversmithing in UK

[Lucy]

So - any suggestions on which uni's are considered to be the best of the best in the UK for jeweler and silversmithing?

Just opinions is all I'm after

[mizgeorge]

I don't have any experience of any of the courses, but if I were to be able to go, I'd want to go to the Birmingham Jewellery School or Central St Martins.

[Emerald]

Birmingham School of Jewellery for me right opposite cookies

[caroleallen]

Birmingham do some great short courses and also West Dean for those who aren't able to do a full time course.

[HannahJewelleryDesigns]

Can I stick my tuppence in on this one please?!

I did a short evening course in jewellery and enamelling back in the late 90's which totally gave me the bug. After that I got a job in a high street jewellers to get my retail qualifications but soon became bored with high street jewellery (no prizes for guessing why!)

After bumbling along for a couple of years I decided to do a foundation course in art as I had dropped the subject at school and never picked up a pencil since. From there I did my degree at Loughborough having seriously considered Buckinghamshire Chilterns and Sheffield Hallam. These were the only three I felt gave equal time to design and manufacture as two seperate subjects. I did look at London and Birmingham but felt that with my limited design skills I needed a push in both directions and I can honestly say I made the best choice for me. We were encouraged from the start to design anything we wanted and then if need be, create the technique to make it, and I loved this way of working.

I think I would put Central Saint Martins, Birmingham School of Jewellery, Loughborough, Buckinghamshire Chilterns and Shaffield Hallam as my top 5 Unis for Jewellery in this country but thats just MHO!!!

[Mila Jewellery]

I went to Buckinghamshire Chilterns and they did focus a lot on the design aspect. All the more wearable pieces I made had a more flamboyant counter-part, that was drawn out of the design process - the manufacture of it was a learning exercise, to enable me to discover how I could adapt it to make the piece more (I hate the word) "commercial" than catwalk. There was a lot that I didn't cover, stone setting and repair type work, but it did enable me to try many things, casting, raising, forging on a larger scale then apply them to smaller scale work. It did open doors too - I had work exhibited in galleries in London, Brighton, Leeds, and I had other galleries asking if they could exhibit my work (what I would give for that now!!) I was also approached by a major high street jewellery retailer and offered a design job based on my degree show work. So I feel it was worth doing - I just wish I had persued it a bit more, but then **** happened in life and it all went a bit belly up lol

[cowardlyjo]

Hi, this is a real bone of contention for me too. I did a Three Dimensional Design Degree way back in 1996 & graduated in 1999 with a 2:2 Hons. I did apply to The Jewellery School @ Birmingham before hand & got an interview but never got accepted. Now I am desparately trying to get in to workshop environment, (paid preferably) just to get back into the swing of making jewellery. I just want some good solid leads, if any one knows anything or anyone would you please pm me.

I, like some of the previous thread contributers, started with a local community evening class, back in the early 1990's.

Also, this is completely off topic I know but which of these two magazines is more specifically targeted to a jobbing jeweller/trainee goldsmith positions, the Goldsmith or Jeweller Focus? Both of these I have had a brief look at each website, but I would prefer a readers opinion. They were suggested to me by a member of the Institue of Professional Goldsmiths, a very nice man called Mike Shore.

[HannahJewelleryDesigns]

I used to read both those magazines back when I worked in retail jewellery a few years ago and both used to have sections about vacancies within the trade. Focus was much more trade oriented where as Goldsmiths tried to be more trend based- but this was a couple of years ago so I dont know if they are still the same now.
The Benchpeg website and E-newsletter has the best 'situations vacant' I know of but is mainly London based although it does try to cover the whole country.
I know the Jewellery Quarter has its own magazine- I think its the Hockley Flyer (someone correct me if Im wrong!) so that might have vacancies in it too. Maybe worth a try?

[cowardlyjo]

Thanks Hannah, I already subscribe to Retail Jeweller, which I know is more shop based. I also follow and am subscibed to Bench Peg and have Jackson Maine details , plus The Jewellery Stylist site as a favourite.
I 'll try the Hockley Flyer again. I want to to know about both mags as I am going to ask my eldest brother to gift it me as birthday subscription, therefore I just wanted to check which one was the better of the two.

Please could any other current subscibers of these mags let me know a bit more information - specifically with regard to workshop vacancies.

[Dennis]

New Designers, at the Isligton business centre London, is one of the highlights of my year. There is usually a huge jewellery section, in a kind of annexe upstairs, which allows you to see what some of our universities produce, with prestigious prizes. It happens in the first two weeks of July, but there is not much information on the site yet. If it is possible for you, check it out. Central Saint Martins, London, also has a graduate show, which is very design orientated. It's a shame to do very bread and butter stuff for the High Street. If necessary that can come later. Dennis.