The Diamond District Still Sparkles
JANUARY 5, 2010
Diamonds—and a new setting—may be the economy’s best friend.
The Diamond District is located on West 47th Street between Fifth Avenue and Sixth Avenue in midtown Manhattan. The area’s prominence as a jewelry center flourished in the ’30s (This NYTimes photo compares the Diamond District in the 1940s to the same area today) as the midtown district was handling some of the world’s largest diamond and jewelry transactions. Over ninety percent of the diamonds and fine jewelry that enter the United States today go through the Diamond District, making it one of the world’s largest centers of the industry.
Recently the 47th street Diamond District made news again: Construction has begun on a 34-story “International Gem Tower,” approved in 2006 and due to be completed mid-2011. The sleek new condominium building at 50 West 47th Street will feature both jewelry and non-jewelry tenants. The building’s developer—chief executive of the Extell Development Corporation and himself a former diamond dealer—has put up some of his own money and is banking on the project as a symbol of the city’s continued upward financial growth, as well as the industry’s ability to compete with the world’s biggest diamond centers and growing heavyweights like Dubai and Shanghai.
ALSO IN NEW YORK CITY INSIDER
- 30 Park Place Vs. The Baccarat Hotel and Residences - JUL 8, 2014
- This Week in NYC Living - JUL 1, 2014
- Notable NYC Neighbors - JUN 26, 2014
- Great NYC Buildings: New in the Heights - JUN 23, 2014
- Notable NYC Neighbors - JUN 20, 2014
- Notable NYC Neighbors - JUN 17, 2014
- Building Vs. Building - JUN 9, 2014
- Notable NYC Neighbors - JUN 6, 2014
- Notable NYC Neighbors - MAY 23, 2014
- Notable NYC Neighbors - MAY 15, 2014
- Great NYC Apartment Buildings: 12 East 13th Street vs. 22 Central Park South - MAY 13, 2014
- Notable NYC Neighbors - MAY 7, 2014
- Notable NYC Neighbors - MAY 1, 2014
- Upping the Architectural Ante in NoHo - APR 22, 2014
- Great NYC Buildings: Brooklyn's Gold Coast Living - APR 15, 2014
- Notable NYC Neighbors - APR 11, 2014
- Building vs. Building - APR 10, 2014
- Notable NYC Neighbors - APR 2, 2014
- This Week in NYC Living - APR 1, 2014
- Notable NYC Neighbors - MAR 26, 2014
- View Articles By Date