Just West of Farringdon Station, this narrow grid of streets is clustered with jewellery shops, cafes, and creative business spaces. Best known as London’s jewellery quarter and the heart of the UK diamond trade, Hatton Garden’s gem-trading history extends as far back as the mediaeval era. Today, almost 300 businesses in and around this area are within the jewellery industry, 55 of which have shops. The largest of these is De Beers, an international corporation that dominates the diamond trade from exploration and mining to cutting and sales. The surrounding streets of Saffron Hill and Hatton Place have been transformed to fit more residential purposes in recent years, with the construction of a number of luxury apartments in what was previously the printworks of Punch Magazine.

Hatton Garden gets its name from Sir Christopher Hatton, who purchased the land in this neighbourhood from the Bishops of Ely in the 16th century. Although this area had long been a centre of trade for jewellers, watch-makers and clock-makers, it wasn’t until the 1850s that these trades began to concentrate in Hatton Garden so heavily. During the British Raj, this area became a cutting centre for diamonds obtained from India, as well as gold and platinum from other colonies. However, many of these buildings were destroyed during the Blitz of World War II. Although the gem trade is not quite as busy here as it once was, there are a number of craftsmen and designers seeking to re-invent the area and restore the diamond quarter to its former glory.

The American-born inventor, Sir Hiram Maxim had a small factory in this neighbourhood area in the 19th century, and in 1881 he invented and began to produce the world’s first machine gun. Named the ‘Maxim gun’, it was capable of firing 666 rounds per minute. Maxim also held patents on other mechanical devices such as mousetraps, hair-curling irons, and steam pumps. More recently, Lawrence Graff opened the first ever retail jewellery store in this neighbourhood area in 1962. He is now one of Britain’s wealthiest people, owning a great number of jewellery shops around the world.

In July 1993, thieves stole £7 million worth of gems from Graff Diamonds. They broke through three combination-locked doors before emptying a safe and taking a ruby and diamond necklace, as well as dozens of loose diamonds. The robbery took place over the course of just 15 minutes, and fortunately nobody was harmed during the raid. The thieves were not captured at the time, but they are believed to be the same group of jewel heist suspects who were arrested in Monaco in 2009.

The amount of jewellers in this neighbourhood area means that there is an extensive underground network of vaults, tunnels, offices and workshops. Equipped with state-of-the-art security systems, these vaults hold the majority of the safety deposit boxes and stores of gems and precious metals which the diamond quarter depends upon.

The downside of this neighbourhood area is that it is one of the most expensive areas in the city to both buy property and shop in.

The recent opening of the Elizabeth line at nearby Farringdon station is set to boost the footfall through this area dramatically. Now directly connected to 3 of London’s 5 main airports, as well as most of the Thames Valley commuter belt, housing prices and business revenues in this neighbourhood area are expected to skyrocket. A number of planned improvements to the nearby Barbican, Chancery Lane, and Holborn tube stations aim to make this increase in footfall more manageable.