The Hatton Garden Podcast

The following is my conversation with Amanda Li Hope a jewellery designer-maker based in Black Bull yard just off Hatton Garden.  Amanda had a former life as an architect before finding her way to the bench and then The Garden.   I was interested to hear about the difference between being in Craft Central, a large collection of creative studios in Clerkenwell which has now disbanded, and Hatton Garden.  Although geographically the change is only a quarter of a mile, the difference is profound.  It was also great to discuss alloys of gold, which is something of a specialism for Amanda, who recently made a necklace with 18 different shades of 18ct gold. 

We covered:

- From architecture to jewellery

- Amanda's time at Craft Central

- The move to Hatton Garden

- The mixture of designers and technical makers

- Alloys of gold

- Fairtrade, Fairmined, peace-gold, single mine origin and recycled gold.

- Skills in the trade, the Institute of Professional Goldsmiths

- A dream come true, exhibiting the Goldsmith's Fair

Jess has a shop and workshop in Kentish Town and uses the workshops of Hatton Garden as well.  She graduated from Central Saint Martins and went straight into making her signature style of jewellery, full of personal meaning and symbolism.  She talks about several highly successful collaborations she has had over the years including one to commemorate the death of Frida Kahlo which ended up with her work being shown in the Museo Frida Kahlo Riviera Maya in Mexico.  

We covered:

Central Saint Martins and early work

Making jewellery for death

Crests, Seals and Monograms

Frida Kahlo collaboration

Emily Johnson & an amazing coincidence

The power of writing letters

Daughter of an antiquarian book seller!

Is your work quintessentially English?

House of the Dragon collaboration

Comic Con

Taking inspiration from old jewellery

Taking inspiration from other jewellers, or not

Taking on interns and nurturing other jewellers

Balancing work and children

How Jess builds deep relationships with her customers

Has 'storytelling' become hackneyed?

Vivian Watson is the author of How Did Our Garden Grow?  The History of Hatton Garden.  It is a fantastic read, rich with facts from the history of the street and human stories from the people that inhabited it.  Our conversation covered some highlights from the book, general reflections on the world of fine jewellery manufacturing and life in Hatton Garden.

Instagram: @hattongardenpodcast

S Weissbart is one of the longest running and best known diamond dealers on Hatton Garden.  I sat down with Jonathan and Sapir to talk.

We covered:

How Jonathan got into the Trade.

Stepping into the family business.

Saul Weissbart.

Diamond jokes and intro songs.

The appro system and its vulnerabilities.

Challenges facing the diamond industry.

The Responsible Jewellery Council.

How the trade has changed over the years.

What diamonds still excite Jonathan.

Diamonds essential to the story of Hatton Garden.

Closing thoughts.

In this episode I most enjoyed the enthusiasm and drive that Harrison Beasant has for his work.  Harrison is an up and coming jewellery designer in Hatton Garden.  Originally a graduate of the Goldsmiths' Centre Foundation program, he then spent time as an apprentice in a traditional workshop.  His work carries the hallmarks of both approaches and I'm excited to see where he goes.

Enjoy!

We covered:

How Harrison got into jewellery making.

The Goldsmiths' Centre Foundation program.

How Geoff got into the jewellery trade.

Finding his own style as a maker.

An ambitious engagement ring commission that he is working on.

A pair of earrings that Geoff designed.

The creative process.

Collaboration with Lorenzo OG.

Collaboration with the fashion designer Wisnel.

Grillz.

Experimental materials.

Harrison's new mens' jewellery brand Monarch.

Engagement rings.

Designing with lab grown diamonds.

Visions for the future of Hatton Garden.

I enjoyed Peter's infectious enthusiasm for fine jewellery and hearing about his experiences with Bvulgari in Rome.  We spoke about:L

How Peter was encouraged into the trade by his mother and a family friend.

The importance of experience in manufacturing.

The joy and stress of working with high value gemstones.

The art of designing bespoke pieces for clients.

Timeless design.

Rome, Bulgari, Cartier and the Duchess of Windsor.

The London skyline.

Hatton Garden and the West End.

A culture of excellence.

Hatton Garden village.

The recent, darker side of Hatton Garden.

The plight of diamond cutters in Surat.

Historic diamond cutting centres.

Some great characters of the trade.

I was touched to hear about the love that Max and his family have for their business, the oldest shop in The Garden and how, in a time of soaring gold prices, they see themselves as custodians of antique jewellery, doing their bit to save old treasures from the melting pot.  We discussed:

The 'jewelry' industry in New York

The only general jewellery antique shop in Hatton Garden

A little on shoplifting

What would have happened to the jewels stolen from the Louvre

The buzz of buying

Working with family

The threat to antique jewellery from the high gold price

US vs the UK market for antique and 20th century jewellery

Custodianship of old jewellery and the challenges of restoration

A tale of two heists: Hatton Garden & The Louvre

The obligatory chat about laboratory diamonds

The joy of dealing in family jewels

I really enjoyed this conversation with Howard and learned a lot about the, largely hidden, mass-production side of the diamond polishing industry.  At the end of our chat he shared his thoughts on what makes a great jeweller, I think his insights there get to the essence of what it is all about.  I hope you enjoy the conversation.  We discussed:

Howard's route into the trade

The pearl market in the UK

How Diamnet improves the approbation system for its clients

Natural and laboratory diamonds

The importance of a physical presence selling diamonds

Ethics of natural and lab grown diamonds

'Super Fancy' lab grown cuts

Why do we buy jewellery?

How large is too large? 2 - 3 cts it turns out.

Taylor Swift

Hatton Garden, national centre of the jewellery trade

How Hatton Garden used to be a global diamond trading centre

How Sarin technology changed the diamond polishing industry

What makes a beautiful diamond - beyond certificates

How AI is affecting things

The rise of bespoke jewellery

What makes a great jewellery? Empathy.

Michael retired in 2021 after nearly 60 years in Hatton Garden.  I got the sense from him of a different time; a harder but more simple time. Here's what we covered:

In my conversation with Justin we talked about the following:

What makes a great jeweller

Justin's route into the trade

The craft of handmade jewellery

Antique jewellery

Being an apprentice is 1974

Hatton Garden and the West End

Making high end jewellery

The challenges of having an apprentice

Trade secrets

Approaching retirement

Working with the finest gemstones

Favourite jewellery (Art Deco)

Justin's long running passion project

The future of jewellery