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BIRMINGHAM AS JEWELLER TO THE WORLD

A little quiz to start your day: name the world's great jewellery centres. If you answer Amsterdam, Antwerp, New York and Tel Aviv you are only partially right. Include Birmingham and you get full marks. What's more, this city has gone a step further, by making its Jewellery Quarter a successful tourist attraction as well as a thriving retail marketplace.

Much of the jewellery sold in The Quarter is made locally. This keeps prices so far below what you would pay London, even one purchase can offset your train fare from the south. With the flexibility of 100 outlets to choose from, you are likely to find exactly what you have in mind. If not, then craftsmen will readily design and customize to your specifications. They also repair, clean and engrave at very competitive prices. The gold and silversmiths have attracted other craftspeople, so in this same area you will find sculptors, cabinet makers, stained glass designers, clock specialists, even an art gallery. Pubs and good restaurants have located here too, and pointing the way is a pamphlet showing the Jewellery Quarter Discovery Trail.

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GETTING THERE:- Birmingham is 190km northwest of London via Motorways M1 and M6, or about 90 minutes by frequent Intercity rail service. For more information, contact the Birmingham Convention and Visitor Bureau, 26 Water St, Birmingham B2 5TJ, tel 0121 603 2000,