New York City has two very different places where extraordinary concentrations of portable wealth can be found within a few miles of each other. In Midtown Manhattan, the Diamond District fills a single block of West 47th Street with jewelers, diamond dealers, cutters, wholesalers, appraisers, and exchanges. Downtown, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York stores the world’s largest known depository of monetary gold deep beneath its headquarters.
The two places are sometimes lumped together in stories about New York’s wealth, but they serve completely different purposes. The Diamond District is a working commercial marketplace where diamonds, jewelry, watches, and some precious metals are bought and sold. The Federal Reserve gold vault is a custodial facility for governments, central banks, and official international organizations. It is not a place where members of the public can buy gold.
Where Is the NYC Diamond District?
The New York City Diamond District is located on West 47th Street between Fifth Avenue and Sixth Avenue, also known as Avenue of the Americas, in Midtown Manhattan. It is immediately south of Rockefeller Center and only a short walk from Times Square.
The district occupies just one block, but the amount of jewelry business concentrated there is extraordinary. When New York City formally opened the 47th Street Diamond District Business Improvement District in 1997, the city reported more than 2,600 independent businesses operating on the block. At that time, city officials said at least three-quarters of all diamonds entering the United States passed through the district…