From St. George, New Dorp, Great Kills or Tottenville, a visit to the Diamond District in Midtown Manhattan is a trip you will want to make once, not three times. That changes how you prepare. This page is about getting everything ready on Staten Island, starting with a phone call, and coming home from one visit with several written offers to compare.
Diamond Buyers NYC is an independent referral service, not a buyer, pawnshop or dealer. When you call or send the form, your details go to an independent buyer in New York, who makes any offer.
Selling a diamond from Staten Island? Call first, and an independent New York buyer comes back to you.
Start with a call
A phone call before you travel saves the most time. Describe what you have: the kind of piece, the carat weight if you know it, the shape, and whether there is a grading report. If there is a GIA report, have the number ready; GIA offers a Report Check on its website where a report number can be looked up, and a buyer can do the same. When the buyer gets back to you, ask what they will want to see in person, so nothing is left at home.
The one-trip checklist
- 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, the trip is wasted.
- Every piece you might sell. Rings, loose stones, earrings, gold. Offers on the same set of things are easy to compare.
- The grading report and any receipts, appraisals, boxes and papers.
- A closed box for loose stones, not an envelope.
- A way to record offers: who, what it was based on, and the figure, in writing.
Several offers, one visit
The Diamond District is West 47th Street between Fifth Avenue and Sixth Avenue. According to the 47th Street BID, it has the largest concentration of diamond and jewelry related companies and retailers, which is what makes one visit enough: you can show the same diamond to several buyers within a short walk. The BID lists the B, D, F or M to 47-50 Streets Rockefeller Center, the 1 to 50th Street and the N, Q or R to 49th Street among the nearest stops. Hours vary by business, so check before you set out; the article on Diamond District hours explains how.
- Describe the diamond the same way to each buyer.
- For a ring, ask for the stone and the setting separately.
- Get each offer in writing, with the business’s name and DCWP licence number.
- Compare them before you decide, and remember you can always decline.
The guide to the Diamond District NYC covers working the block in more detail.
The rules are the same on the island
If you would rather sell closer to home, a Staten Island buyer works under the same NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) rules as one on 47th Street: a Secondhand Dealer General licence posted in view, the licence number on the receipt, your ID checked and recorded, any gold or platinum weighed on an approved scale with the troy weight told to you, and no resale of used items for 15 days. A business lending against jewelry is a pawnbroker, licensed separately; a pawn is a loan, not a sale.
Before you set out
Read how to sell diamonds in NYC for the sale step by step, and the guide to diamond resale value so the offers are no surprise: a retail price includes the store’s costs and margin, so any offer will be lower than what was paid in a store.
Questions people ask
Is it worth going into Manhattan to sell a diamond?
Often, because the Diamond District puts many buyers on one block and several written offers are easy to get in one visit. A licensed Staten Island buyer works under the same city rules.
What should I bring from Staten Island?
Official photo ID, every piece you might sell, the grading report if there is one, and any receipts, appraisals, boxes and papers.
Does Diamond Buyers NYC come to Staten Island?
No. Diamond Buyers NYC is an independent referral service, not a buyer, pawnshop or dealer, and it has no shop or visiting service. Your details go to an independent buyer in New York, who makes any offer.
Call the line
One number, answered in New York.