A sparrow lands on our garden table in Rome’s five-star Hotel de Russie and Alberto Repossi helps it to some crumbs as he describes, with regret, the changing lifestyles of the super-rich and the clouds gathering over the exclusive luxury sector.

As creative and business head of one of the world’s leading jewellery houses – and personal jeweller to various royal families – Mr Repossi is sensitive to the shifts in all aspects of his small family business, from the soaring price of diamonds to the observation that these days women may take just five minutes to select a jewel’s colour, rather than an hour.