Where the jewellery trade works: gold souks, jewellery quarters, diamond districts, manufacturing towns and export zones, with what you find there and the official website where there is one.
Gold souk or gold street
Kolkata, India
What you find: Gold jewellery retail and manufacturing (Bengali goldsmith work)
Central Kolkata's gold quarter: jewellery shops on the main streets and thousands of small goldsmith workshops in the lanes behind, a craft tradition going back to the 1800s. Busiest before Durga Puja, Dhanteras and the wedding season.
Trade district
Delhi, India
What you find: Silver jewellery (mostly 925), oxidised silver, gold and pearls
A narrow lane in Chandni Chowk, Old Delhi, that has been the city's silver street since Mughal times. Family shops sell silver jewellery by weight; ask for the 925 mark and a bill.
Jewellery town
Kofu, Japan
What you find: Gem cutting and jewellery manufacturing; the Koo-fu regional brand
Yamanashi's jewellery industry grew from the rock crystal once mined near Mount Kinpu. Kofu is now one of Japan's main jewellery-making towns, with the prefecture's Yamanashi Jewelry Museum telling the story.
Trade district
Hyderabad, India
What you find: Lac bangles set with stones, pearls, semi-precious stones and silverware
The old market street leading from the Charminar, known for lac bangles studded with stones and pearls, made in the workshops behind the shops. Hyderabad's pearl and jewellery shops line the streets around it.
Trade district
Tokyo, Japan
What you find: Jewellery wholesale, loose stones, findings and repair
Tokyo's jewellery wholesale quarter, east of Okachimachi station, where the streets carry names such as Ruby and Diamond. Wholesalers, stone dealers, setters and repairers work side by side; many also sell to the public.
Manufacturing district
Guangzhou, China
What you find: Contract manufacturing of gold, silver and gem-set jewellery
A manufacturing district south-east of central Guangzhou where many Hong Kong jewellery brands have their pieces made. Factories, not shops: visits are by appointment with a manufacturer.
Trade or export zone
Mumbai, India
What you find: Export manufacturing of gold and studded jewellery
A government special economic zone in Andheri East where many units make gold and diamond-set jewellery for export. One of India's largest jewellery export centres; entry is for business visitors only.
Jewellery town
Zhuji, China
What you find: Freshwater pearls, wholesale: loose, strands and jewellery
A town in Zhuji, Zhejiang, where most of the world's freshwater pearls are traded, in large pearl market halls and, increasingly, by livestream. Buyers come for strands by the hank and loose pearls by the kilo.
Trade district
Shenzhen, China
What you find: Gold jewellery wholesale and manufacturing, gold priced per gram plus making charge
The centre of China's gold jewellery trade, in Luohu: trade buildings full of wholesalers and the factories behind them. Gold is sold by weight at the day's price plus a making charge. Also listed in our gem markets.
Trade district
Bangkok, Thailand
What you find: Coloured-stone and diamond dealers, jewellery makers, findings suppliers, gem laboratories
Bangkok's wholesale gem and jewellery quarter runs along Silom, Mahesak and Surawong roads. The Jewelry Trade Center tower at Silom Soi 19 houses dealers, trade offices and several gem laboratories under one roof. Trade offices see buyers by appointment.
Trade or export zone
Jaipur, India
What you find: Export manufacturing of gemstones, gold and silver jewellery
Two special economic zones on the edge of Jaipur, opened for many products but filled almost entirely with gem and jewellery makers, from coloured-stone cutting to gold and silver jewellery for export.
Manufacturing district
Thrissur, India
What you find: Gold jewellery manufacturing for Kerala and South India
Kerala's main gold jewellery making centre: thousands of small ornament-making units and tens of thousands of goldsmiths supply jewellers across South India. Workshops, not showrooms: visits go through a manufacturer.
Manufacturing district
Wuzhou, China
What you find: Cutting of cubic zirconia, synthetic corundum and spinel, and glass stones
A city in Guangxi that grew, over four decades, into a major centre for cutting laboratory-made and imitation stones for the fashion jewellery trade. Useful to know when checking where calibrated synthetic stones come from.
Gold souk or gold street
Bangkok, Thailand
What you find: 96.5% Thai gold ornaments and bars, sold by weight
Bangkok's Chinatown has long been the city's gold street: family gold shops along Yaowarat Road sell Thai 96.5% gold by the baht weight, at prices that follow the Gold Traders Association's daily announcements. A retail street, busy in the evenings.
Trade district
Yiwu, China
What you find: Fashion and costume jewellery, sterling silver, findings, wholesale only
The world's largest small-commodities market has whole floors of fashion and costume jewellery, silver jewellery and components, sold wholesale by the dozen. A sourcing market for brands and retailers, not for fine jewellery.
Gold souk or gold street
Mumbai, India
What you find: Gold and diamond jewellery, wholesale and retail; bullion dealers; small workshops
A maze of narrow lanes in South Mumbai, near Crawford Market, packed with jewellery shops, bullion dealers and the workshops behind them. Around 150 years old and still one of India's busiest gold markets.
Gold souk or gold street
Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
What you find: Gold jewellery retail, Gulf and Indian styles
Sharjah's landmark souk on King Faisal Street, opened in 1978, with one wing largely given to gold shops. Popular with shoppers from across the Emirates; prices follow the day's gold rate plus a making charge.
Trade or export zone
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
What you find: Diamond, gold and precious-stone trading companies; diamond tenders and vaults
The Dubai Multi Commodities Centre is a government free zone in Jumeirah Lakes Towers. Its Almas Tower houses the Dubai Diamond Exchange, its trading floor and vaults, and hundreds of diamond companies. A trade centre, not a shopping street.
Gold souk or gold street
Manama, Bahrain
What you find: Gold jewellery and Bahraini natural pearls
Manama's gold quarter: a building full of gold shops in the old souq, near the older independent gold shops. Bahrain is also known for its natural pearls.
Gold souk or gold street
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
What you find: Gold jewellery retail and wholesale; 22K and 21K Gulf styles
Covered market lanes in Deira, near Dubai Creek, lined with hundreds of gold shops. Prices are per gram at the day's rate plus a making charge, and bargaining over the charge is normal. A recent extension added many more shops. Also listed in our gem markets.
Gold souk or gold street
Doha, Qatar
What you find: Gold jewellery retail, bridal sets
A purpose-built gold market a few steps from Souq Waqif, with some fifty gold and jewellery shops under one roof. Gold is sold by weight at the day's rate plus a making charge.
Diamond district
Ramat Gan, Israel
What you find: Polished diamond trading, cutting and grading
A group of linked towers in Ramat Gan, east of Tel Aviv, that house the Israel Diamond Exchange and its trading floor, with diamond companies, cutters and laboratories. Members and their guests only. Also listed in our gem markets.
Gold souk or gold street
Muscat, Oman
What you find: Gold jewellery by weight, Omani bridal gold and silver
The gold lanes inside Mutrah Souq, on Muscat's old harbour front, where Omani families buy bridal gold. Pieces are sold by weight rather than by design.
Gold souk or gold street
Kuwait City, Kuwait
What you find: Gold jewellery retail and traditional Kuwaiti pieces
Kuwait City's historic market, rebuilt after 1991, with a large gold section at its centre among the older trades of the souq.
Diamond district
Antwerp, Belgium
What you find: Rough and polished diamond trading; diamond bourses, laboratories
A few traffic-free streets beside Antwerp Central Station, Hoveniersstraat, Rijfstraat and Schupstraat, where the world's rough diamond trade has centred for over a century, with bourses, dealers and laboratories. Trade only. Also listed in our gem markets.
Manufacturing district
Arezzo, Italy
What you find: Machine-made gold chain and gold jewellery manufacturing
Tuscany's gold district, a centre of Italian gold chain and jewellery manufacturing with roots in Etruscan goldsmithing. It hosts the Oroarezzo trade fair every spring. Pieces made here carry the provincial code AR in their mark.
Gold souk or gold street
Istanbul, Türkiye
What you find: Gold jewellery, gold coins, silver and antique jewellery
One of the world's oldest covered markets. Its main jewellery street, Kalpakçılar Caddesi, runs from gate to gate between gold shops; workshops and gold dealers fill the hans behind. Closed on Sundays.
Jewellery town
Hanau, Germany
What you find: Goldsmith training, contemporary jewellery, the German Goldsmiths' House
A goldsmiths' town since Dutch and Walloon settlers arrived around 1600; it has a state school for jewellery and the German Goldsmiths' House, which shows contemporary jewellery.
Diamond district
London, United Kingdom
What you find: Diamonds, engagement and wedding rings, bench jewellers, bullion dealers
London's diamond and jewellery quarter, between Farringdon and Chancery Lane. Shopfronts on the street, with workshops, setters and diamond dealers in the floors above and the buildings behind.
Jewellery town
Jablonec nad Nisou, Czechia
What you find: Glass and costume jewellery, beads, components
A town in the Jizera Mountains that became a world centre of glass and costume jewellery at the end of the 19th century. Its museum and shops show the craft; many small makers still work here.
Jewellery quarter
Birmingham, United Kingdom
What you find: Jewellery making and retail, bench jewellers, the Birmingham Assay Office, a jewellery school
A historic quarter of workshops just north of Birmingham city centre that has made jewellery for more than 250 years. Hundreds of jewellers still work here, alongside the Birmingham Assay Office and the Museum of the Jewellery Quarter.
Manufacturing district
Istanbul, Türkiye
What you find: Gold jewellery manufacturing, wholesale, refining
A purpose-built jewellery complex near Istanbul's airport, opened in 2006 to move workshops out of the historic Grand Bazaar. Manufacturers, wholesalers and a refinery sit together; it is a trade centre rather than a shopping street.
Jewellery town
Pforzheim, Germany
What you find: Jewellery and watch manufacturing, jewellery design schools, the Schmuckmuseum
Known as the Goldstadt (gold town): its jewellery industry began in 1767 and grew into Germany's main jewellery and watch-making centre. Today it has jewellery makers, design and technical schools, and a museum devoted to the history of jewellery.
High jewellery street
Paris, France
What you find: High jewellery houses and their workshops
The square that has been the address of French haute joaillerie since the 19th century. The great jewellery houses have their salons on the square, with workshops in the surrounding streets such as rue de la Paix.
Jewellery quarter
Florence, Italy
What you find: Gold jewellery shops, Florentine goldsmith work
Florence's medieval bridge, given over to goldsmiths and jewellers by a decree of Grand Duke Ferdinando I in 1593. The small shops along it still sell jewellery today.
Jewellery town
Schwäbisch Gmünd, Germany
What you find: Gold and silver work, jewellery manufacturing, design school
Known as the 'gold and silver town': precious metalworking has been its trade since the Middle Ages, and jewellery and silverware are still made and taught here.
Jewellery town
Torre del Greco, Italy
What you find: Coral jewellery and cameos carved from shell and lava
A town on the Bay of Naples that became the centre of coral working in the 18th century and of shell and lava cameo carving soon after. Mostly small family workshops. Red coral is rare and imitations are common: ask what you are buying.
Jewellery town
Valenza, Italy
What you find: Handmade fine jewellery with coloured stones and diamonds
A small Piedmont town that is Italy's centre for handmade fine jewellery. Unlike the machine-made gold districts, Valenza's workshops make one-off and small-series pieces, and most coloured stones imported into Italy are set here.
Manufacturing district
Vicenza, Italy
What you find: Gold jewellery and chain manufacturing
Italy's largest gold jewellery production district, running from Vicenza to Trissino and Bassano del Grappa, with a goldsmiths' guild dating back to the Middle Ages. Home of the Vicenzaoro fairs.
Diamond district
New York, United States
What you find: Diamonds and fine jewellery, wholesale and retail; setters, cutters and repairers
The block of West 47th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues, the centre of the US diamond trade. Street-level shops, with dealers, cutters and workshops in the buildings above. Also listed in our gem markets.
Jewellery quarter
Chicago, United States
What you find: Jewellery retail, diamond dealers, watch and jewellery repair
A stretch of Wabash Avenue in the Loop, between Washington and Monroe streets, that has been a centre of jewellery, silver and watch making and trading since the early 1900s. A Chicago Landmark district since 2003.
Jewellery quarter
Philadelphia, United States
What you find: Diamonds, engagement rings, jewellery retail and repair
Sansom Street and the blocks around it, near Washington Square: one of the oldest jewellery districts in the United States, dating from the 19th century, with many independent jewellers, engravers and diamond dealers.
Trade district
Los Angeles, United States
What you find: Diamonds, gold jewellery, wholesale and retail, repair and casting
Several blocks of downtown Los Angeles around Hill Street, Broadway and Olive Street, with thousands of jewellery businesses in early-20th-century buildings, including large jewellery marts.
Trade district
Guadalajara, Mexico
What you find: Gold, silver and gem jewellery, loose stones, repair
A four-storey jewellery centre in Guadalajara's San Juan de Dios district with hundreds of jewellery shops, workshops and repairers, in a city that is a major centre of Mexico's jewellery industry.
Jewellery town
Taxco, Mexico
What you find: Silver jewellery and silverware
A hillside colonial town in Guerrero that became Mexico's silver jewellery centre in the 20th century, after the designer William Spratling revived the craft. Hundreds of silver workshops and shops; check the 925 mark when buying.
Gold souk or gold street
Cairo, Egypt
What you find: Gold and silver jewellery, made and sold on the spot
Cairo's medieval bazaar, founded in the 14th century, whose goldsmiths' lanes near al-Muizz Street still make and sell gold jewellery. Bargain over the workmanship, not the gold price.
Places and official bodies, not businesses: JewelLoop does not rank, recommend or endorse any shop or dealer. Websites are the district's own or an official body's. Many trade offices and factories see buyers by appointment only, so check before you travel, and follow the export and customs rules of every country involved. Gem trading places are in Gem markets of the world.