It helps to understand the mechanics of a typical diamond transaction. How has the diamond district withstood the pressures of time? Jewelry salespeople peddle their products to passersby, luring customers in a way that evokes the merchants of an Old World bazaar.ĪP Photo/Mark Lennihan Massive risk – with no legal recourse
Others bark on cellphones and hold briefcases handcuffed to their wrists, sealing deals using lingo that outsiders can’t comprehend. In their place are elderly, ultra-Orthodox Jews wearing black overcoats and fedoras south and central Asians with traditional karakul hats and gaggles of merchants shouting in languages from across the world.ĭiamond merchants – also known as “ diamantaires” – openly do business on the sidewalk, negotiating terms for bundles of gemstones as if they were fruit in an open-air market. Visit 47th Street today, and the stylish pedestrians of Fifth and Sixth Avenues vanish.
The district remains an island of cramped retail space and backroom manufacturing even as Manhattan commercial rents reach historic highs. More recently, the district has survived the area’s rapid gentrification. It withstood the area’s decline in the 1970s and 1980s, a period when Times Square – just a few blocks west of the district – was home to a high crime rate, peep shows and what Rolling Stone called “the sleaziest block in America.” Three men converse in Manhattan’s Diamond District.įrederick Kelly/The New York Historical Society/Getty Images The New York Times in 2001 described 47th Street as “an anachronism, a 17th-century industry smack in the middle of a 21st-century city.” And an ethnographer of 47th Street once said that the diamond industry allows its residents “to mix in and stay apart, adapt to new times in ways that are both modern and traditional, indeed ancient.” Starting in the 1990s, a surge of Indian diamond merchants entered the industry, eventually making Mumbai the unquestioned capital of today’s diamond world.Įven as the faces have changed, business practices have remained the same. A visitor in the 1970s would have heard as much Yiddish and Hebrew as American English. When Belgium and Israel established themselves as post-WWII diamond hubs, the industry for decades was dominated by Jewish merchants triangulating from Antwerp, Tel Aviv and New York. When wealthier banks started driving up downtown rents in the 1920s, diamond businesses started moving uptown to 47th Street.įorty-seventh Street’s significance grew substantially as refugee diamond merchants fled to New York during World War II.
I found that the mechanisms of a pre-modern economy are precisely the devices that allow diamond merchants to thrive in the 21st century.Ī 17th-century industry in a 21st-century cityįrom the mid-19th century until the 1920s, New York’s diamond epicenter was Maiden Lane, four blocks north of Wall Street. In my book Stateless Commerce: The Diamond Network and the Persistence of Relational Exchange, I explore how New York’s Diamond District seems to withstand the forces of economic change. It has withstood the rise of modern finance and e-commerce, resisted economic booms and busts, and adapted to the ebbs and flows of global migration. It has survived urban decay, revitalization and gentrification. A preserve for the barter economy and the transaction sealed by a handshake, this small slice of the city has sustained a unique way of life. The film brilliantly captures the manic energy of New York City’s Diamond District, a bustling commercial stretch on Manhattan’s 47th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenue. In case, any box remains unchecked, drop us a mail at and we will try to fill in the gap asap.In “ Uncut Gems,” an overleveraged diamond jeweler named Howard Ratner, played by Adam Sandler, frantically tries to cover his bad business bets by making bigger ones. So, if you are looking for something with an electric vibe, log in to The Loom, start shopping and tick all the boxes in your wish list at one go. Indians love celebrations and we incorporate an element of celebration in our designs striking a perfect balance between subtle and statement. And our designs are sophisticated, fresh and exciting. Our products include Sarees | Accessories | Apparel | Jewelry and more.Īll our products are hand-picked and unique with highest quality.
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