W Downing, Badge Manufacturer, Jewellery Quarter, Birmingham, United Kingdom. Close up on a galvanised bucket in the corner of the workshop.
W Downing, Badge Manufacturer, Jewellery Quarter, Birmingham. W. Downing was founded in 1905 and is one of only three stampers left in the Jewellery Quarter. Drop forges and fly presses played an integral role in Birmingham’s manufacturing industry during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. They allowed for larger scale production of metal goods to an extraordinary level of precision and consistency. The process behind making the dies to stamp each pattern is known as ‘die-sinking’. Traditionally, each die was hand carved by a master engraver out of a weighty block of steel. Created as a pairing of male and female positive and negative designs, these dies would be fitted into a drop forge or fly press which then cut and form the sheet of precious metal placed between them using brute force. It’s a skilled job, not paying attention could result in lost fingers, not to mention the noise and risk of injury on the razor sharp edges of the freshly cut metal. Fortunately, safety standards have improved considerably since then, and yet, this once iconic British industry is dying out and W. Downing aren’t currently training any apprentices.
Size: 5378px × 5378px
Location: Jewelry Quarter, Birmingham, England, United Kingdom
Photo credit: © Becky Matthews / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
Keywords: arty, badge, birmingham, black, brick, british, bucket, craft, crescent, dickensian, die, dirty, dying, factory, floor, format, galvinized., hasselblad, heritage, history, industrial, industry, jewellery, making, manufacturer, medal, medals, medium, metal, pale, plastic, precision, quarter, rust, rustic, silver, sinking, skill, skilled, spillage, stampers, stamping, stone, tired, trade, tradition, traditional, training, unchanged, victorian, vinatge, vintage, walls, water, white
