i heard this area is threatened by gentrification so today i went up to do a thread on it. the ny diamond district is located along both sides of 47th st bet 5th and 6th avenues. some wiki:

 

The district was created when dealers moved north from an earlier district near Canal Street and the Bowery that was created in the 1920s, and from a second district located in the Financial District, near the intersection of Fulton and Nassau Streets, which started in 1931. The move uptown started in 1941. The district grew in importance when The Nazis invaded Holland and Belgium, forcing thousands of Orthodox Jews in the diamond business to flee Antwerp and Amsterdam and settle in New York City. Most of them remained after World War II, and remain a dominant influence in the Diamond District[1]

 

The area is one of the primary centers of the global diamond industry (along with London - rough stones; Antwerp, Belgium - historical but waning; Mumbai, India - increasing in significance, Ramat Gan, Israel - also growing, and Johannesburg, South Africa - the major historical source), as well as the premier center for jewelry shopping in the city. An estimated 90% of diamonds in the United States enter through New York.

 

t has been reported that total receipts for the value of a single day's trade on the block average $400 million. There are 2,600 independent businesses located in the district, nearly all of them dealing in diamonds or jewelry. Most are located in booths at one of the 25 "exchanges" in the district.

 

Many deals are finalized by a simple, traditional blessing (mazel und brucha) and handshake. The Diamond Dealers Club, an exclusive club that acts as a de facto diamond exchange, has its own synagogue. Retailers with shops line the streets outside. Above the bazaar is the Gemological Institute of America, which trains gem dealers. Getting the best deal entails shopping around and bargaining over prices.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

one two three armored cars  :-o

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

when in rome....i went to taam tov for lunch, it's a bukharin glatt kosher place

 

 

 

 

 

*** that's it from the old school diamond district ***

 

* this is a news blurb about the changes in the district that alarmed me a little:

 

Extell Development, which is planning a 40-story tower in the Diamond District, has just acquired a 55,000-square-foot building on the same block for $50 million, according to city documents posted today.

 

The Fifth Avenue Jewelers Exchange sold the building at 30 West 47th Street to Extell, led by Gary Barnett, a former diamond trader and the developer of Riverside South, who previously told the Post he was merely "assembling a lot of air rights" in the area.

 

The Exchange has owned the building, home to tenants like Afra Diamond Inc. and All That Glitters Diamonds, since at least the 1970s.

http://www.observer.com/2008/diamond-district-building-trades-50-million

 

Cool area.  Some of the more gritty shots could just as easily be of the Jewelery District in Downtown Los Angeles.

I was going to ask, "But where can you eat?". The last part answered that. I don't see any Indian restaurant.

 

Market Exchange District - 1

Manhattan's Diamond District - 0.

 

But seriously, NYC is alright.

Great photos!

 

When I saw this photo, my first thought was, "Why would anyone need to get their ear polished?"

 

Stupid Dyslexia! :-D

 

 

you can find some bargains.  First go to Tiffany, Harry Winston or Cartier...then got to the diamond district and ask for the same type of gem.

 

You won't get the same thing you saw, but they'll show you plenty of similar options, many times, cheaper.

 

Also, I'm surprised nobody from Cleveland mentioned this and I love the way mrnyc set this up.  Do you kids see anything that resembles East 4th street public art??    :wink: :wink:  Strap, EVD, mrnyc, jpop, kstay2.....don't answer.

This is a shameless plug—but if you’re in need of any type of jewelry repair (or in my case, eyeglass frame repair) this is to person who can do it. If I remember correctly I think the address here is incorrect—I think he’s temporarily at 2 W. 47th. In any case, he’s much recommended:

"Rissin's Jewelry Clinic, 4 W. 47th [5th/6th] 212.575.1098. Joe Rissin began making and repairing jewelry when he took an art metal class in high school. He apprenticed with Anton Kun, a renowned jewelry-maker and a hard taskmaster, who taught him, "if you do it right, you don't have to do it over."

 

Mr. Rissin repairs all kinds of jewelry, both fine and costume, as well as eyeglasses. He fabricates intricate clasps for better pieces. "A good clasp is one you can hear click from 10 feet away." His wife works with him to do restringing. Mr. Rissin works in stones and metals, but not with titanium or aluminum."

Got to love all of Manhattan's little "districts."

Great shots!  Nowhere but New York!  The specialty districts are so terrific, especially the wholesale jewelery areas.  Nothing else quite like them, and very few in the whole world.  Would be a shame to be up-marketed, I like it gritty.  LA's district is similar, but on a smaller scale.  It has been the target of lots of gentrification in recent years as well. 

Never did like the tacky diamond "art" things but the district is neat.

A neighborhood with the worlds largest jewelry exchange is threatened by gentrification. Only in NYC!

I guess it depends what you mean by "threatened".  If I recall correctly, the most serious proposal for new development (maybe the Extell project) would have encouraged consolidation of many of the diamond dealers in a single building.  This ticked off the other landlords but would not have actually displaced any of the businesses.  Not sure if I remember it exactly though.

I thought about that afterwards as well.  With Rock Center on one side of this, and primarily office buildings south of the DD, there isn't anywhere to build.

 

Unless they are trying to clear the street itself.  Even then the development that would be proposed, would be so expensive nobody could afford it.

true i cant imagine the money involved. otherwise, there is definately room to build. you can see in one of the pics tishman has something going up mid-block right now. i peeked inside -- it's in the huge deep pit stage.

 

my real concern was that if the diamond dealers are mostly consolidated that the street-level old school signs, fronts and general vibe could easily be lost.

 

so nobody see the resemblance of the DD in NYC to E4 in Cleveland?  And I though you Kids were on point?!  :wink:

I do, I do!

Arnold Horshack, HUSH!