47th Street, Diamond trading street in Midtown Manhattan, United States
47th Street is a thoroughfare in Midtown Manhattan that runs between Fifth and Sixth Avenues and hosts more than 2,600 businesses dealing in diamonds, precious stones, and luxury timepieces. Both sides of the block are lined with storefronts displaying jewelry, settings, and loose stones, while small sales rooms and workshops occupy the interiors behind them.
Jewish diamond merchants moved their businesses from Maiden Lane to this location during the 1920s and created a new center for gem trade. Many of the merchant families came from Europe and expanded the operations after World War II into an international hub for diamond commerce.
Dealers often conduct negotiations in Yiddish and Hebrew while evaluating stones under bright lights at small workbenches. Buyers walk between narrow showrooms where merchants use loupes and precise scales to assess gems before sealing agreements with a traditional handshake.
The Rockefeller Center subway station between 47th and 50th Streets offers direct access to several lines for visitors exploring the area. Most businesses open in the morning and close by early evening, while many dealers maintain shorter hours or remain closed on Saturdays.
Daily transactions at this location reach approximately 400 million dollars in value, with 90 percent of all diamond trade in the country passing through here. Much of the business takes place in private back rooms or secure vaults that remain invisible to passersby on the sidewalk.
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