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Shaping the Next Generation: Weston Beamor and the BCU School of Jewellery

Shaping the Next Generation: Weston Beamor and the BCU School of Jewellery

More than twenty years ago, Weston Beamor began a relationship with Birmingham City University's School of Jewellery that we're still proud to build on today. What started as a commitment to nurturing emerging talent in our own city has grown into something far richer - a genuine creative partnership that connects our workshop to the next generation of jewellery makers, and the largest jewellery school in Europe, right here in the Jewellery Quarter. This year, that partnership has produced one of the most ambitious and imaginative student briefs we've ever been involved in. And with the awards ceremony taking place on 24th March 2026, we're looking forward to celebrating the results.

A Live Brief, Real Stakes

The HND Jewellery & Silversmithing students taking the Advanced Production Processes module don't work to a generic brief. Each year, Weston Beamor collaborates with students to set course parameters together - and this year, the brief is twinned with the National Trust's Birmingham Back to Backs site to create something genuinely distinctive.

Students were each assigned one of three richly drawn clients, each rooted in real Birmingham history and culture

George Saunders - a Windrush-generation master tailor who migrated from St Kitts to Birmingham in 1958, built a successful business on Hurst Street, and whose shop is now preserved by the National Trust as part of the Back to Backs. Students briefed on George were asked to design a bespoke men's signet ring reflecting his Caribbean heritage, craftsmanship, and cultural legacy, alongside a commemorative thimble inspired by the same design - a piece that could tell his story to visitors at the Back to Backs site. Twiggy of Birmingham - a prominent LGBTQ+ figure who emerged from the city's alternative club scene in the early 1980s, building a singular identity across four decades of performance, fashion, and activism. Students were asked to design a theatrical cocktail ring that channels Twiggy's kaleidoscopic spirit, alongside a more understated everyday piece that hints at that same personality without overshadowing daily life. Ethically sourced materials were specified as essential - a reflection of Twiggy's values and authenticity. Jackie and Greg - a couple whose relationship began at a National Trust property and who embody two complementary aesthetics: his quiet romance for aged stonework and architectural detail, her preference for bold, structured contemporary elegance. Students briefed on this client were asked to design a bespoke engagement ring and wedding band set, drawing inspiration from classical architecture, Gothic tracery, and period ironwork. Each brief required students to engage with the full commercial reality of jewellery production: CAD design using Rhino 8.0, lost-wax casting, laser welding, costing sheets, profit margins, and marketing through a professional Instagram account. This isn't an academic exercise - it's a simulation of the work our own team does every day.

The Competition

This is where the brief becomes a live project. Weston Beamor judges review all submitted work and select three winning designs - not for the pieces that most ‘fit in’ - but for the ones that most creatively and cohesively respond to their assigned client. We're looking for interpretation, ingenuity, and the ability to put yourself in someone else's shoes while still designing something genuinely beautiful and commercially sound.

The awards will be announced at an exhibition in March 2026, with prizes of £300, £200, and £100 for the top three designs. Each winner also receives a one-week work placement at Weston Beamor - time spent in a working manufacturing environment. For students preparing to enter the industry, we hope that the week offers something no classroom can fully replicate.

Emma Millard explained what Weston Beamor judges look for in the winning designs and why the competition matters, saying,

"I genuinely love this time of year - seeing what the students do with the brief is one of the highlights of our calendar. So many people in this industry had someone who gave them a chance early on, and I think we all feel that responsibility to do the same. Birmingham's School of Jewellery shaped a generation of makers who are now working at the very top of the trade. Being part of that journey, even in a small way, means a great deal to us.”

More Than a Competition

The annual student competition is perhaps the most visible part of our relationship with BCU, but it sits within a much longer commitment. For over two decades, Weston Beamor has supported the School of Jewellery through course sponsorship, skill share, and financial donations - contributing to the resources, equipment, and opportunities available to students on the HND programme. Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter has always depended on a pipeline of skilled makers. The School of Jewellery is central to that pipeline, and we believe it's simply part of our responsibility - as a company that has been manufacturing in this city for over 78 years - to invest in it.

The Bigger Picture: Back to Backs and BCU

This year's client briefs didn't emerge from nowhere. They're directly inspired by the ongoing collaboration between BCU and the National Trust's Back to Backs site in Birmingham - a partnership exploring how student creativity can bring the museum's stories to new audiences. In 2023, students from across BCU's Department of Jewellery, Fashion and Textiles responded to the story of George Saunders through garments, digital media, artwork, and wallpaper for the George Saunders Reimagined exhibition. That project sparked something larger: a two-year collaboration running from 2025 to 2027, in which approximately 150 students will explore their own cultural heritage and draw inspiration from the local neighbourhood - its LGBTQ+ community, its Windrush history, and the stories preserved within the Back to Backs itself. A major exhibition is planned for Summer 2026, spanning two floors of the Back to Backs site, with a dedicated studio residency space on the top floor offering opportunities for BCU graduates to exhibit, run workshops, and engage with the local community. The HND Jewellery & Silversmithing students are part of this. The three client briefs we helped to shape this year - George, Twiggy, Jackie and Greg - are drawn directly from that community, that history, and that neighbourhood. It felt important to us that the jewellery students weren't working in isolation from the broader project. Their pieces belong to the same conversation.

We're proud of what this partnership has become, and genuinely excited to see what the students produce. The exhibition in March will tell us a great deal - not just about individual talent, but about what happens when the industry takes the time to invest in the people coming up behind it.

The awards ceremony takes place on 24th March 2026. We'll share the winning designs here once the results are announced.

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Shaping the Next Generation: Weston Beamor and the BCU School of Jewellery

The Competition

More Than a Competition

The Bigger Picture: Back to Backs and BCU

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