E Katz& Co

Emil Katz, who left Czechoslovakia in 1939 with diamonds his mother had sewn into his suit lining, talked his way into a caretaker's office at 36-38 Hatton Garden in June 1946 and began trading as E Katz & Co. The shop moved across the road to 88-90 Hatton Garden in 1955 and has stayed there since. When Emil died in 1956, his widow Edith took over with no prior experience in the trade, and their son George began a jewellery apprenticeship at sixteen to keep the business going. George still runs the workshop today alongside his son-in-law Robert, cutting and setting engagement and eternity rings on the same premises where customers buy them.