The Los Angeles Diamond District

The LA Diamond District on Hill Street in downtown Los Angeles houses nearly 5,000 jewelry businesses. What you can actually accomplish there, and what you cannot, is a useful distinction to have before you go.

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Hill Street in downtown Los Angeles is one of the largest jewelry markets in the United States. The district runs primarily along Hill Street between 6th and 8th Streets, with overflow into adjacent streets and the jewelry exchanges that anchor the blocks. The buildings house dealers who work at multiple levels of the trade: cutters, wholesalers, setters, diamond dealers, estate buyers, and retailers all operating within a few blocks of each other.

For someone who knows what they are looking for and how the district works, it is a useful resource. For someone who does not, it can be disorienting and potentially expensive in the wrong direction.

How the District

Actually Works

The Diamond District is primarily a wholesale and trade market. Many of the dealers sell to the trade, meaning to other jewelers and retailers, rather than to the general public. Some will also sell to retail buyers, particularly for loose stones, but the experience is different from walking into a retail jewelry store.

Prices are negotiated. Unlike retail stores where the price is posted and fixed, most dealers in the district expect negotiation. The first price offered is often not the final price. Whether this benefits you depends on how much you know about what you are pricing.

The district is competitive. The same category of stone, a round brilliant in G/VS2, will be priced differently by different dealers in the same building. Comparison shopping across three or four dealers for the same specification produces a range that gives you a genuine baseline.

What the District

Is Good For

Loose diamond shopping is the district’s strongest application for retail buyers. If you want to compare multiple stones in the same specification across multiple dealers, the district allows you to do this efficiently in a few hours in a way that no single retail location can match.

Repairs and modifications are widely available and often less expensive than at destination retailers. Stone setting, chain repairs, prong work, and sizing can all be accomplished at competitive prices.

Appraisals from independent appraisers, some of whom have offices in the district, provide useful information about the value of pieces you already own.

Estate and vintage pieces appear regularly in some district shops, sourced from estate sales and consignment.

What the District

Is Not For

The district is not the right environment for custom design work. Custom work requires a relationship with a specific maker, multiple consultations, and the ability to evaluate sketches, models, and progress. The district is transactional by nature; it is not set up for the collaborative process that custom jewelry requires.

The district cannot offer the design vision that distinguishes fine jewelry from commodity jewelry. A diamond at a competitive price is available in the district. A ring conceived by a specific designer with a specific visual language and approach is not.

Authentication and documentation are worth scrutinizing. While many district dealers are reputable and provide GIA certificates for their stones, the volume of the district also creates conditions where misrepresentation can occur. Get documentation for everything. Ask for GIA reports on any significant diamond purchase and have any significant purchase verified independently before the return window closes.

Bez Ambar’s

Place in the LA Market

Bez Ambar has operated in Los Angeles for decades and has deep roots in the LA diamond and jewelry trade. The relationship to the district is one of a designer who sources material from the wholesale market but designs and makes finished pieces at a different level: not commodity jewelry at competitive prices but specific pieces conceived with specific aesthetic intentions.

A diamond from the district in a Bez Ambar setting is not the same product as the same diamond in a standard setting. The design is the work.

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What People

Ask Us

Is the LA Diamond District safe? Yes. The district is a commercial business area with significant security infrastructure. Individual jewelry exchange buildings have controlled entry, security personnel, and cameras. Exercise the same common sense you would in any urban commercial environment.

Do I need to know anything before going? Know the four Cs (cut, color, clarity, carat weight) well enough to evaluate what dealers tell you. Have a GIA chart on your phone for size reference. Have a sense of what a fair price range is for what you want, either from research or from comparing multiple dealers. Go with specific criteria rather than browsing without a target.

Can I negotiate prices in the Diamond District? Generally yes for loose stones and finished jewelry. The extent of negotiation depends on the dealer and the specific piece. Some dealers post firm prices; most expect some negotiation. Starting at 10 to 15 percent below the asking price and settling in between is a common pattern.

Is it safe to buy a diamond there without a GIA certificate? No significant diamond purchase should be made without a GIA certificate from the current, current owner of the stone, not a photocopy of an old report. The certificate should include the stone’s cut grade, color grade, clarity grade, and measurements. Anything without documentation is a risk.

What is the parking situation? The district is in downtown LA. Parking structures are available nearby; street parking is limited. Many visitors take rideshare. Budget for parking costs and traffic on any trip to the district.

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Continue Reading

• Traveling With Fine Jewelry: What to Bring and How to Protect It
• What to Ask a Jeweler Before You Buy: A Complete List
• When to Upgrade an Engagement Ring: The Right and Wrong Reasons

Explore the Bez Ambar fine jewelry collection.

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