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The Many Faces of 47th Street
Sep 5, 1997 11:40 AM
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By Amber Michelle
One of the most fascinating areas in New York City, 47th Street,
nicknamed Diamond and Jewelry Way, and its surrounding blocks, is one
of the busiest and most complex business centers in Manhattan.
Buildings that elsewhere house accountants, lawyers and other office
types, are home to diamond dealers and cutters, casters, designers,
manufacturers, estate jewelers, gemological laboratories, metal
refineries and industry associations.
A beehive of activity, each day the street is teeming with thousands
of people from myriad cultures and backgrounds all brought together by
a common passion for diamonds, gems and jewelry. From world-reknowned
designers to powerhouse diamond or gem dealers and the many artisans,
craftspeople and suppliers that support them, 47th Street truly has it
all. And it's this variety of resources, all packed together on a city
block, that make the street a global resource.
The Diamond Authority
More than anything else, 47th Street is best known for diamonds, and
for good reason. According to a Diamond and Jewelry Industries Study
conducted by the Office of the Manhattan Borough President, Ruth W.
Messinger, 95 percent of the diamonds that enter the United States
pass through New York City. The volume of goods that travel through
the street has created "diamond mavens," who are known for their
expert analysis of a gem.
"Forty-seventh Street is the ultimate sounding board for what your
stone is worth. It's like a diamond stock market. It gives the cash
value for a stone," states Barry Twersky, a diamond broker. "Dealers
from out-of-town don't know the worth of a stone like the dealers in
New York who know the value down to the penny. New York is the land of
liquidity and you can get the price of what the diamond is worth."
Since diamonds have become more and more of a commodity, and margins
are running tight in the trade, 47th Street insiders can actually mean
a bigger profit. Diamond buyers outside of New York often make their
decisions based on a cert, which may not fully reflect the subtle
nuances of a particular stone.
"We don't have people in New York buying off of certs. Since they're
here, they may as well see the stones. The cert will tell you about 95
percent of what you need to know, but that remaining 5 percent can
make the difference between, profit and no profit," remarks Chuck
Meyer of Henry Meyer Diamond Company.
Diamond dealers often rely on their cutters to help them create the
best stone possible, and New York has many, each with their own
particular area of expertise.
"I work with many cutters. Some work on smalls or fancies others on
larger or rounds, others will just take out an inclusion. Outside of
New York I might not have all these different people who are experts,"
says David Levy of Adasco. "If there's only one cutter he may not know
how to do everything."
Community
Forty-seventh street is a tight-knit community that interacts
closely. Everyone knows each other and relies on each other, which
creates an intricate network of connections forged by proximity,
mutual needs and generational ties. It's not unusual for big-money
deals to be made and honored on a handshake.
"I deal differently with customers here than I do with out-of-towners.
I can give credit on 47th Street because I know what's going on here,"
says Levy.
According to Neil Burman who manufactures the Susan Van Gilder
designer collection it doesn't behoove a dealer to stick it to a
manufacturer, because they want repeat business: "Ninety-eight percent
of deals are done on a handshake, but you must know who you're dealing
with. You have to get referrals."
Color stone dealers are also a close group, who find that even though
they are competitors, there is a need to be together.
"New York is an important jewelry center for color stones. We depend
on each other inventory wise. We give and take memo from each other.
It's impossible to have enough inventory," explains David Cohen, Rafco
International Gem Corp.,who notes that outside of Bangkok, New York
has the largest concentration of color stone dealers in the world.
"All the major suppliers are within walking distance. It's hard to do
business as a color stone dealer with just your own inventory. You
have to be in a major center to survive."
Doug Parker, William L. Kuhn, Inc., agrees that New York is the best
place for color stone dealers: "It's a constant market, there is no
place else in the country where you can sell or buy what you're
looking for. It's a very active international market."
An Image Problem
The many exchanges on the block, each filled with booth after booth
hawking every kind of jewelry imaginable, is like a multitude of
shopping malls dedicated to jewelry. Prices are often low, which makes
47th Street a haven for consumers hunting for the coveted deal. Plenty
of people shop the street with no problem and make purchases they are
pleased with, however, the block unfortunately has a reputation that
those who shop the area risk being ripped off. That negative image was
recently fostered when the street became subject to the uncomfortable
scrutiny of national television. Prime Time Live ran a segment on
47th Street, revealing unscrupulous practices by some retailers (since
out of business) on the block. The show orignally ran a couple of
years ago and was repeated during this past summer.
Besides the suspicion that shadows the area, it's the very deals that
attract consumers to 47th Street that in some ways detract from the
industry overall.
"When a private attains a wholesale price, it's a victory for that
person, but it breaks down the rationale for retail prices. This is
very wrong with the street. It sabotages the retail arena for creating
interest and excitement," remarks Richard Buonomo,GG, a private
jeweler who works in the 47th Street business.
With price as the driving force behind much of the merchandise sold on
the street at retail, it excludes a lot of the more design-forward
product that captures the glamour, style and art of the industry.
"Forty-seventh street is an active market, you have to participate.
For years we sold only to fine retailers nationally, but not to 47th
Street. Now we sell here," says Flyer. "A lot of designers don't sell
here, they can't because of the price. If you have the right product
at the right price you can sell on 47th Street. Design sets you apart,
but price is first, then serviceability."
On The Move
While it's true that 47th Street has everything, some jewelry
businesses still move away, just not too far away.
"Forty-seventh Street doesn't have the cachet we wanted. The buildings
aren't nice enough," explains Julianne Jaffe principal of design firm,
J.J. Marco. "We're only a few blocks away. We make runs over a couple
of times a day and we still love the convenience."
High rents also play a part in driving businesses off the street.
"We had an office on 47th Street for 52 years. We had cutters in our
office, but as time went on the cutters moved. We were in a factory
building doing administrative and
executive work. When it came time to renew the lease we moved to
Madison Avenue. We got a bigger, nicer space in a better building with
rent that was less than half," says Meyer.
Meyer admits that the move did cause some concern over whether or not
brokers would come to them because they had moved a block off the
street and they worried that out-of-towners might not stop by because
it was inconvenient to leave the main drag. But he reports that the
fears have been unfounded: "Some out-of-towners have actually
complimented us as being a respite. We've lost nothing by moving."
Fifth Avenue
When it comes to luxury one of the first places in New York to come to
mind is Fifth Avenue. It's a street that has built its reputation on
serving an exclusive clientele with discriminating tastes and money to
spend. Several high-profile retail jewelers sparkle on the avenue, and
they too, are connected to 47th Street. But it's a selective
connection: the higher-end retailers deal mostly with wholesalers who
have upscale goods, others report that the carriage trade is
inconsequential to their business. Still, Fifth Avenue retailers can
help in other ways.
"Carolyn Kelly, the senior jewelry buyer at Saks Fifth Avenue, gave me
a lot of input, when we were developing the Susan VanGilder
Collection. She was very generous with her time. She talked to us so
that we knew how to modify pieces to hit certain price points,"
comments Burman.
Previously Owned
Estate jewelry is unlike any other segment of the jewelry industry and
it presents its own challenges. Authenticating and dating a piece, and
its condition, are all important aspects in determining its price. On
47th Street, there are specialists who can identify a time period, or
repair a piece using traditional techniques, there are even resources
who can supply a rose-cut or Old Mine diamond. A piece can be passed
around to other vendors for opinions, all in a very short time. And
the street's reputation as a jewelry center draws consumers who have
pieces to sell.
"A piece of jewelry coming in from the public sector has to progress
on a path, that is uncharted and inefficient before it gets back to
the consumer. Forty-seventh Street is a fertile area for a piece
because it can be hawked, valued and critiqued," says Buonomo. "Our
product is a commodity, but we're selling art. You have to taste it,
squeeze it, smell it, try it on. We have to be close to the goods."
Auction houses are always on the prowl for great estates to provide
them with goods, but since auctioneers can't always count on an estate
to turn up when they need it, they turn to the New York trade to help
fill the gaps.
"Our trade links are the life-blood of the auctions.The New York
jewelry trade is crucial to every international jewelry sale as
suppliers and buyers," states John Block, Sotheby's. "The trade is
important because we're not retailers, somebody has to supply the
merchandise."
While rumors sometimes circulate that trade goods are not going to be
part of upcoming auctions, it's simply not true.
"We have enormous overlap with the trade, whether it's buying or
consigning. The energy in New York is found nowhere else. We (NY) are
a feeding ground for the trade all over the world," says Simon
Teakle,Christie's. "It's not just Christie's New York and 47th Street.
Christie's International can find business in New York too."
The Source
The amount of merchandise on 47th Street is mind boggling. There are
more jewelry resources, and buyers and sellers on that one block than
anywhere else in the United States. When it comes to jewelry, if it
exists you can find it on 47th Street, or someone will know where to
get it, no matter how obscure. It's a street where everyone knows
each other and it's a hotbed of information and opinions that are
freely exchanged. Together these factors build an environment with
clout that reaches across the country and around the globe.
"There is no other place in the world with such a variety of
merchandise. You'll see a lot of ideas and more jewelry exposed here
than anywhere else in the world," comments Armand Asher of Albert
Asher South Sea Pearl Company.
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Tags:
Auctions, Consumers, Jewelry, Laboratories, Sotheby's, United States
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