Traders in the Jewellery Quarter have noticed a sharp increase in people selling items of jewellery after the price of gold and platinum reached record highs.

However, the selling market in the Jewellery Quarter - which is said to contain the highest concentration of dedicated jewellers in Europe - remains buoyant, traders claimed.

Christopher Green, director of Crystalink Jewellery Manufacturing Ltd, on Hall Street, said the sale of engagement and wedding ring sales ensured the quarter was not hit by the rising prices.

Gold steadied at about $1,000 (£500) an ounce ahead of yesterday's US Federal Reserve's meeting on interest rates. It spiked to an historic high of $1,030.80 an ounce on Monday - the first time it had broken the $1,000 dollar barrier.

Spot platinum fell to $1,945/1,955 (£985) an ounce from $1,980/1,990 late on Monday, off a record high of $2,290 an ounce hit on March 4.

Mr Green, who is also a director of the Jewellery Quarter Marketing initiative, said: "My family have five shops in the Jewellery Quarter and I was speaking to my brothers yesterday about the increase in people selling off their gold.

"People are obviously aware of the commodities market and the increasing price of gold across the world markets.

"In many instances, people are getting back what they paid for their goods - sometimes even more. So it is obviously worth their while taking jewellery into the shops at this time."

Mr Green said businesses in the Jewellery Quarter were concerned customers could have been driven away by the spiralling cost of gold and platinum.

However, he said business had remained brisk thanks to the consistent wedding market.

He said: "We were scared that we would have our business hit, but this has not happened. People always want to buy wedding and engagement rings. These are items that couples have to have, whatever the price.

"Sometimes they can ensure they are in budget by having a ring which carries less weight, but nine times out of ten, most couples have what they want." Many analysts believe the price of platinum may be on its way down in the coming weeks, although the high price of gold looks more static.

Hiroyuki Kikukawa, an analyst at IDO Securities in Tokyo, said: "The fall in platinum is especially big after surging repeatedly in the last several weeks. Gold and others are falling but there should be plenty of demand once the outlook in the financial market gets clearer,"

Gold has long been viewed as a safe haven against volatile stock markets and inflation, and also as a hedge against a weak US dollar.

And the market jitters have also been persuading investors to seek out gold.

Although after breaking the $1,000 barrier, the price of bullion slipped slightly, fund managers do not believe that gold is overvalued and many expect it to push beyond this peak.

Manufacturers who have operated in the Jewellery Quarter for more than 200 years have proved resilient to changes in the gold, platinum and silver markets in the past.

About one third of the jewellery manufactured in the UK is said to be made within one mile of Birmingham city centre.

The Jewellery Quarter serves not only the general public but also the wholesale and retail trade.