Blog Post

World's Largest Jewelry Exchange: world record in New York City, New York

Nov 17, 2022

New York City, New York, United States--Designed by Hyman Isaac Feldman, "The World's Largest Jewelry Exchange", a 131-foot, 13-story early-modern multi-use building at West 47th Street, 55, New York City, was the largest on the block, with some 115 jewelry dealers on the first three floors; the building also has about 49,500 square feet of office space and 10 residential units, thus setting the world record for being the World's Largest Jewelry Exchange, according to the WORLD RECORD ACADEMY.

A large black band above the storefront has silver metal lettering reading "WORLD'S LARGEST JEWELRY EXCHANGE".

In this building:

(Source: wikimapia)

Photo above: Jewelry by Salvatore & Co.

"As iconic as the Diamond District is, 47th street wasn’t even the original hotspot for jewelers in NYC. In the 1800s, the jewelry hotspot was centered, coincidentally I’m sure, around Maiden Lane and Canal St, just a few blocks from Wall Street. In 1924, the New York Times stated that “the bride-to-be who could show a ring from Maiden Lane was thrice happy,” the Diamond Pro reports.

"Rising rents and other factors forced jewelers to look upwards and eventually they settled on one long block of 47th street between Fifth Avenue and Avenue of the Americas. Many of the buildings housed “exchanges” on the ground floors, where you can go from counter to counter looking at different offerings of gold, diamonds and other metals and gems. You could have your watch fixed on one counter, pick out a pair of diamond earrings across the aisle and have your emerald reset into a different ring two counters down.

"The Diamond District in New York is located on West 47th Street between Fifth Avenue and Avenue of the Americas in Midtown Manhattan. The Diamond District is one block off of Madison Avenue, famous for the iconic fashion houses’ flagship stores. It’s a stone’s throw from Times Square and is home to over 2,500 jewelry stores. Some are standalone shops while others host dozens of jewelry counters vying for attention."

Photo above: Jewelry by Tomas Edipson

"The Diamond District is the world’s largest shopping district for all sizes and shapes of diamonds and fine jewelry at tremendous prices and value. When you shop for diamonds and fine jewelry, this is the first and only place to shop- New York ‘s Diamond District," the diamonddistrict.org reports.

"The United States is the world’s largest consumer market for diamonds. Over 90 percent of the diamonds that enter this country go through New York City and most of them go through the Diamond District. More than 2,600 independent businesses are located in the Diamond District, and nearly all of them are related to diamonds or fine jewelry.

"The Diamond District is located on West 47th Street between Fifth and the Avenue of the Americas ( Sixth Avenue ) in midtown Manhattan. We are within walking distance of many New York City attractions, one block south of Rockefeller Center, three blocks south of Radio City Music Hall (along the Avenue of the Americas) and three blocks south of St. Patrick’s Cathedral (along Fifth Avenue). We are also just one block east of the Broadway Theater District."