New York City's Diamond District is one of the primary centers of the global diamond industry and offers the world's largest urban shopping area for all sizes and shapes of diamonds and fine jewelry. The Diamond District is known worldwide for offering tremendous prices and value to everyday consumers. The District is located on West 47th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues in midtown Manhattan. It is within walking distance of many New York City attractions, one block south of Rockefeller Center, three blocks south of Radio City Music Hall (along the Avenue of the Americas), three blocks south of St. Patrick's Cathedral (along Fifth Avenue) and just one block east of the Broadway Theater District.
A remarkable 90 percent of all diamonds entering the United States go through New York City, and most of them go through the Diamond District. Of the more than 2,600 independent businesses located in the Diamond District, the vast majority are related to diamonds or fine jewelry. Most are located in booths at one of the 25 "exchanges" in the district.
Merchants in the Diamond District sell diamonds of virtually every size, shape and quality. You can buy a loose (unset stone), a stone that is already set in jewelry or bring in your own stone and choose a setting from thousands of different styles. In addition to diamonds, you will find colored gemstones, pearls, gold jewelry, platinum jewelry, watches, antique and estate jewelry and lots of places that do jewelry repair, watch repair, engraving, pearl restringing and stone setting. The district offers great buying opportunities as jewelers in the area are located where jewelry is made and where diamonds are cut and traded.
Some jewelers on 47th Street have their own shops like your typical mall jewelry store. But most retailers have simple booths in the 25 jewelry exchanges scattered throughout the Diamond District. In each exchange, there are up to 100 separate independent jewelry businesses all under one roof. In most cities in America , you have to travel to the other side of town. In the 47th Street Diamond district, you step five paces to your left or right and you will see a different jeweler with a totally different selection of items.