Despite globalization New York still rules the roost: New York may no longer be seen as essential when it comes to small stones, but in the sizes of 0.5 carats and up, most U.S. dealers still travel to 47th Street to take personal delivery of the goods.(Diamond Industry)

Famed columnist Tom Friedman of the New York Times may have proclaimed that "the world is flat," and globalization and the Internet are definitely changing the diamond business as much as anything since lasers and computerized marking systems began to replace the time-honored olive oil and diamond powder-coated scaifes in the late 1980s, but some things have not changed: New York City's 47th Street remains at the heart of the U.S. diamond trade, according to experts both in the city and across the country.

"Upwards of 95 percent of the diamonds in the United States enter through New York. The importance of New York cannot be overstated," asserted Jeffrey Fischer, president of the International Diamond Manufacturers Association. Thus, the majority of diamond buyers in the United States "still find it in their business interest" to pay regular …