The square mile of streets immediately behind Central Station handles 84% of the world's rough diamond trade and around half of the polished trade. Around 1,700 diamond businesses operate here — most behind unmarked doors, on the upper floors of buildings, in a tight cluster on Hoveniersstraat, Pelikaanstraat, Schupstraat, and Vestingstraat. The streets are closed to most through traffic and ringed by security cameras and armed police.
You cannot enter most of the trading floors, but walking the district is an experience in itself — the only place in the world where you will see Orthodox Jews in fur hats and Indian Jain traders in white kurtas going about the same business on the same pavement. The DIVA museum on Suikerrui is the official introduction. Pelikaanstraat is lined with retail diamond shops if you actually want to buy.