New York City’s diamond and jewelry district is located on the west side of 47th St., between 5th and 6th avenue. The Diamond District is one of the most important diamond centers in the world. It is estimated that some 90% of the diamonds that reach the United States – the largest diamond market in the world – enter the country through New York. Businesses in this district supply jewelry to many stores in New York and the US.
The Diamond District is home for many diamond dealers’ offices, jewelry stores and the Diamond Dealers Club (DDC), which in practice functions as a diamond exchange. There are some 2,600 independent businesses operating in the area. Almost all of these businesses trade jewelry or diamonds in one of the 25 “diamond exchanges” in the area.
Stores and diamond merchants started to move to this area in 1941, and their numbers grew significantly when thousands of Jews working in the diamond industry fled to New York after the Nazi invasion of Amsterdam and Antwerp. The representative office of the Israeli Diamond Industry is also located in the heart of the Diamond District. Since the businesses in the area are highly sensitive, it has a reinforced presence of police forces.
