Buying an engagement ring in Hatton Garden: what to expect

Most people arrive in Hatton Garden knowing only that it is where you go for a ring. They step off Chancery Lane or Farringdon, find a street of shopfronts with diamonds in every window, and quickly realise nobody has explained how any of it works.

This guide covers what the district is, whether it is cheaper, who you are actually buying from, and how to arrive prepared.

What Hatton Garden actually is

Hatton Garden is not a shopping centre. It is a working trade district, and it has been London's jewellery quarter for well over a century. The shopfronts are the visible part. Behind and above them sit the workshops: setters, polishers, engravers, casters and CAD designers, most of whom you will never meet and many of whom supply several of the names on the street.

That structure explains most of what confuses first-time buyers. Two shops fifty metres apart can sell what looks like the same ring at very different prices, because one may have made it and the other may have bought it in.

Is Hatton Garden actually cheaper?

It is not a discount district.

A Hatton Garden shopfront can simply be a retailer like any other, buying finished stock and adding a margin. The address alone does not guarantee anything. What you are looking for is a maker.

Workshop, showroom, or shopfront

Three quite different businesses share the same postcode.

• A workshop designs and makes. You are buying the making as well as the materials, and you can usually ask exactly who does what.
• A showroom sells finished pieces, sometimes made nearby, sometimes not. Convenient, quick, and less flexible.
• A shopfront agent takes your brief and passes it to a workshop. Perfectly legitimate, but you are paying an extra layer and you are one step further from the person holding the tools.

None of these is wrong. But they answer different needs, and the price difference between them is not always visible from the pavement. If it matters to you, the question that separates them is simply who actually makes the ring.

Do you need an appointment?

For a walk-in showroom, no. For a bespoke commission, yes, and you should want one.

A by-appointment atelier is not being difficult. It means the person you speak to is the person who will design your ring, and their afternoon is set aside for you rather than shared with whoever comes through the door. It also means the stones discussed are sourced to your brief rather than pulled from whatever happens to be in the safe.

Our own bench is inside The Goldsmiths' Centre on Britton Street, a few minutes from the main run of Hatton Garden, and we work by appointment for exactly that reason.

How to arrive prepared

Four things make a first visit far more useful.

1. A budget you are willing to say out loud. This is the single biggest time saver. A jeweller who knows your figure can tell you what is achievable in five minutes instead of showing you things you will not buy.
2. A sense of shape, or at least of what they already wear. Photographs of their existing jewellery tell an experienced eye more than a description does.
3. A ring size if you can get one. Borrowing a ring they already wear on that finger is the most reliable method. Our ring size guide covers the alternatives, and sizing can be corrected afterwards.
4. A willingness to be told no. A good jeweller will tell you when a stone is wrong for a setting, or when you are paying for a grade nobody will ever see.

Comparing quotes without confusing yourself

The classic mistake is collecting three quotes for three different rings and then comparing the prices. It tells you nothing.

To compare fairly, hold the specification still. Same carat weight, same colour and clarity grades, same grading laboratory, same metal, same setting style. Then the only variable left is the maker, which is what you were trying to judge in the first place.

Ask each one what the quote includes, how long it holds, and what happens if the ring is not right when you collect it. The answers vary more than the prices do.

What to be wary of

Nothing sinister, mostly just vagueness.

• A grade quoted without a grading report from an independent laboratory. GIA and IGI are the two you will meet most often.
• A price that moves once work has begun.
• An unwillingness to say where the ring is hallmarked. In London it should be the London Assay Office.
• Claims that everything is made in-house. Very few workshops cast, set and finish entirely alone, and the honest answer is usually that some stages go to specialists. We design in CAD and finish at our own bench; casting and stone setting go to workshops we have used for years.

What it costs

Settings start at £910 and a complete bespoke ring, setting and centre stone together, starts at £2,000. Most commissions land between £3,000 and £12,000, which is broadly where the London market sits for bespoke work.

Allow three to four weeks from approving the design, and four to six weeks end to end from the first conversation.

Frequently asked questions

Is Hatton Garden cheaper than a high street jeweller?

It depends on who you are buying from: a maker, or a retailer with a Hatton Garden address. The postcode alone does not guarantee anything.

Do I need an appointment in Hatton Garden?

Not for walk-in showrooms. For a bespoke commission you should want one, because it means the designer's time is reserved for you and stones are sourced to your brief rather than picked from stock.

How long does a bespoke ring take?

Three to four weeks from the moment you approve the CAD design, and around four to six weeks from the first conversation.

Can I commission a ring without visiting?

Yes. Consultations by phone are routine, and designs are approved from CAD renders. Plenty of our commissions are made for people who never come to the building.

What should I bring to a first appointment?

A budget, photographs of jewellery they already wear, a ring size if you can get one discreetly, and any images that show the direction you are drawn to.

If you would rather see how a commission is put together before speaking to anyone, our guide to designing your own ring shows the order in which a ring is decided, setting first and then the stone, and how long the making takes. When you are ready, book a consultation and we will take it from there.