People planning a trip to New York’s Diamond District often search for its hours, as if the block opened and closed like one store. It does not. West 47th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues is a street of separate businesses, each with its own hours, and no single published timetable covers them all. This article explains how to find the hours that matter for your visit and how to plan a trip to sell, so you are not standing outside a closed door with a ring in your pocket.
Diamond Buyers NYC is an independent referral service, not a buyer, pawnshop or dealer, and it has no shop on the block. When you call or send the form, your details go to an independent buyer in New York, who makes any offer.
Why there is no single answer
The Diamond District is defined by place, not by a building with a front door. The 47th Street Business Improvement District, which looks after the block, describes it as the place with the largest concentration of diamond and jewelry related companies and retailers. Each of those companies sets its own hours, and those hours can change, around holidays among other times. Any list of ‘Diamond District hours’ online may be out of date for the business you want.
How to check the hours that matter
- Decide who you want to see. If you have a buyer in mind, look up that business’s own published hours.
- Call ahead. A short call confirms the hours and tells you whether the person who prices diamonds will be in.
- Check again on the day if your trip is around a holiday.
- Leave yourself time. Comparing offers from more than one buyer takes longer than one visit.
If you would rather not call around yourself, call the line on this site, describe the diamond, and an independent New York buyer comes back to you.
Getting there
The BID gives these as the nearest subway lines: the B, D, F or M to 47-50 Streets Rockefeller Center; the 6 to 51st Street; the 1 to 50th Street; and the N, Q or R to 49th Street. The M1 to M5 buses run on Fifth and Madison Avenues, the M50 on 49th and 50th Streets, and the M7 on Broadway. Plan the trip from your own stop before you set out.
Plan the visit like a seller
Opening hours are the easy part. What makes a selling trip worth it is arriving ready to get more than one written offer.
- Official photo ID. In New York City a licensed buyer must see it, record its type and number and have you sign in front of them. Without it, no licensed buyer can buy from you.
- The grading report. GIA offers a Report Check on its website where a report number can be looked up. Check yours at home before you go.
- Every piece you might sell, with receipts, appraisals and any box and papers.
- A way to note each offer: who made it, what it was based on and the figure.
Ask each buyer to put the offer in writing, with the business’s name and its DCWP licence number. For a ring, ask for the stone and the metal separately. The full guide to the Diamond District NYC sellers use covers working the block in more detail.
What every buyer on the block must do
Hours vary, but the rules do not. Every business on 47th Street that buys used jewelry or precious metal from the public works under the NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection’s rules for secondhand dealers:
- A Secondhand Dealer General licence, posted in view with DCWP’s complaint sign.
- The licence number on receipts and cards.
- A scale for precious metal, of an approved type reading to 0.01 troy ounce or finer, with the troy weight told to you.
- A record of each purchase, and no resale of used items for 15 days.
- No purchases from minors.
If the timing does not work
If you cannot get to Midtown during the hours that suit the buyers you want to see, start with a call. A report number and a description are a good start, and you can decide afterward whether the trip is worth making. When you are ready, the step-by-step page on how to sell diamonds in NYC covers the sale itself.
Questions people ask
What time does the Diamond District open?
There is no single opening time. Each business on West 47th Street sets its own hours, so check the business you plan to visit or call ahead.
Is the Diamond District open on weekends?
It depends on the business. Hours vary across the block, so confirm with the business before you travel.
Can I start without going to the Diamond District?
Yes. Call the line and describe the diamond, and an independent New York buyer comes back to you. You can decide afterward whether a trip is worth making.
Call the line
One number, answered in New York.