As thousands of Lehman employees lost their jobs yesterday, the City's shopkeepers were left worrying about the knock-on effect the redundancies would have on their own businesses.

While those in the luxury market said it was far too early to divine what might happen to sales of bespoke diamond rings, fine wines and chunky watches, many expect a tail-off in the high-end market which has so far proved impervious to the wider credit crunch.