Walking into Lilac Rose I was surprised at the number of men inside browsing (slightly uncomfortably) through the jewellery. I was highly impressed. I’d be very happy to receive any of the jewellery on sale here as a present (with the possible exception of the £10 necklaces made out of scrabble letters with a hole in them).

I don’t know if I could be bothered to go there again in person, though. The interior is typically pretentious, its boutique design awkwardly mixing quirky boudoir, interwar glamour and ‘50s kitsch. I was seduced, however, into buying an enamel bangle and a glass ‘trinket box’, although after they were dumped into a bag and handed to me I found out the bangle had chipped a large piece out of the box. They replaced it, but I was informed sniffily that it was not ‘our policy’ to wrap glass in anything other than a single piece of tissue.

I think the best way to describe lilac rose would be as a great place to find a last minute present for someone, but not a shop for fun browsing.

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