The Hatton Garden Podcast

Howard Levine - Diamond Dealer

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 Fox - Jobbing Jeweller

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:
 
Introduction and Michael Fox's Background
 
Hatton Garden in 1963
 
Early Experiences and Apprenticeship
 
Why Jobbing Appealed
 
Traditional Tools
 
Workshop Atmosphere
 
Transition to Self-Employment
 
Community and Relationships
 
Gaining Confidence
 
Hatton Garden as a Diamond Trade Center
 
Enjoyment of the Trade
 
The Cost of Gold
 
Sense of Belonging and Community
 
Work as a Hobby
 
Current State of the Trade
 
Cultural Fabric - Lubavitch Visits
 
Retirement
 
Natural & Synthetic Gemstones
 
 

Justin Wilson - Diamond Mounter

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
 
 
 
 
 
 

Tessa Metcalfe

Tessa is an unorthodox presence in Hatton Garden but nonetheless part of the place.  I had a great time chatting with her in her shop at the end of the street about all sorts of things, from pigeons to window cleaners, from her creative process to the politics of diamonds.  Enjoy!
 
How Tessa got into jewellery.
Why Pigeons?
Where Tessa draws inspiration from.
Jewellery and art.
Diamonds.
Gemstones.
Tessa’s creative process.
Symbolism and the everyday.
Heart shaped gemstones.
Creative tone of voice.
Coming to Hatton Garden as a female maker.
Questions from Instagram.
The future of jewellery?

Gareth Harris

**Apologies, but the sound quality is poor in this episode** with some of the recording unusable so the editing is a bit of a dog's breakfast. The substance of what Gareth had to say was so valuable that I hope you will condone the decision to run with it.
For this episode I visited Gareth of Smith and Harris is his dungeon workshop on Hatton Garden.  Surrounded by the tools of the trade, some of which he and his business partner Dennis have made or had made themselves, we covered a lot of ground, from mudlarking to bungling Kate Moss into the back of a Land Rover in broad daylight.
We covered:
 
The tools in Gareth’s workshop.
Memories of being an apprentice.
How Hatton Garden has changed.
Advice for becoming a jeweller.
Why Gareth is a jeweller and not a farmer.
Gareth’s favourite aspects of Hatton Garden.
How people find meaning in jewellery.
Some of the commissions Gareth has delivered.
Trophies.
Making an 18ct Gold life size statue of Kate Moss.
The benefits of welding over soldering.
More on Kate Moss.
The anonymity of workshops in Hatton Garden.
From the workshop to the velvet cushion.
Mudlarking on the banks of the Thames.
The ecosystem of Hatton Garden.
Gareth’s predictions for the future.

Norman Belgherbi-Martus

When I first stepped into the offices of Ino Creative, Norman's company, I had a sense that this was the future, or at least one aspect of it, for the bespoke jewellery industry in Hatton Garden.  Norman's perspectives and insights in this conversation are valuable and informative - well worth a listen.  Thanks for giving me your time, brother!
We covered:
Valentine's Day.
The challenges of casting.
Secrecy and transparency in jewellery manufacture.
How Norman got into the trade.
Starting Ino Creative.
Being a CAD designer in Hatton Garden.
CAD designed vs handmade jewellery.
The ecosystem of Hatton Garden.
Advice for a young person getting into the jewellery profession.
3D metal printing.
Natural and Lab grown diamonds.
How the advent of lab diamonds has effected the trade.
Norman's predictions for the future.
 
 
 

Stuart Poole

I sit down with Stuart Poole to discuss his work in founding Nineteen48 Gems and the challenges of supplying fully traceable, ethical gemstones.  Here's what we covered:
 
How Stuart got into the world of jewellery and started 1984 gems.
The importance of reputation and relationships.
Establishing a traceable supply chain.
The Sri Lankan mining industry.
Artisanal and large scale mining.
Description of a mine in Sri Lanka.
Setting up the company.
Working in the Sri Lankan market.
The challenge of tracing individual gemstones through the supply chain.
Gemstone holograms and QR codes.
The effect of laboratory diamonds.
Comparison of Diamond and Gemstone mining.
Moyo Gemstones collaboration in Tanzania.
Comparison of working in Tanzania and Sri Lankan.
Current trends.
Mining in developed economies vs developing.
Sapphires.
Native light and how that might affect gemstone desirability.
Stuart's predictions.

Marcus McCallum

I talk with Marcus McCallum, eminent gemstone supplier to the jewellery trade in Hatton Garden.  I'm grateful to him for being a good sport and trusting me with this first instalment of the podcast.  The insights he had to offer were broad and deep. 
 
Introduction: the aim of The Hatton Garden Podcast.
How Marcus came to Hatton Garden.
How Hatton Garden has changed over the last 40 years.
The ecosystem of Hatton Garden.
Rising rents and the pandemic.
Marcus’s collaboration with Faberge and the V&A museum.
Hatton Garden and the West End.
Hatton Garden and the UK.
Ethics and sustainability in the gemstone trade.
The importance of long term, local relationships.
Small scale and large scale mining.
Gemstone and diamond mining.
Current trends.
Marcus’s predictions for the future.