How did Houston Become the Best Place for Jewelry Shopping?

By Devorah Isenberg, Friday, March 18, 2011 7:24 AM

New York, Paris, Antwerp and Los Angeles are all centers for diamond cutting, jewelry design, diamond trading and everything else that goes into making diamond jewelry. But there is another city rising quickly in international fame for being one of the best place to buy diamond jewelry and loose diamonds—and that is Houston, Texas. While hardly more than a sleepy Texan town a century ago, Houston has become a powerhouse of international business, technology, research and innovation. While the rest of the United States, and the world, suffered from a difficult economic situation these last few years, Houston has surged ahead, with a growing economy and a healthy job and housing market.

Fifty years ago, the term “Texas jewelry” conjured up nothing more than the image of a woman selling folk necklaces made of silver and turquoise on a dusty roadside. Today, the Houston jewelry scene includes the world-famous Galleria Mall, numerous headquarters of prestigious online retailers, and dozens of small boutiques and designers. Engagement rings in Houston tend to be as high-quality, as on-trend and as exciting as any of the designs coming out of the New York Diamond District.

Yellow gold diamond engagement ring 

Houston was founded in 1836 as a port and railroad center for what was then the independent Republic of Texas. In the twentieth century, the opening of the Texas Medical Center and NASA boosted the city’s international profile and attracted up-and-coming industries of all kinds. In the last fifty years, Houston has become a center for the energy, manufacturing, aeronautics and transportation industries. Houston also has a thriving cultural community, with a wide range of theater, ballet, opera, symphony, and other cultural venues. The Museum of Fine Arts in Houston is one of the largest in the country.

Despite the notoriously hot weather and frequent hurricanes, Houston had a major boom in growth in the 1950’s. The availability of air conditioning made living in Houston a viable option, and the housing market became—and remains—robust. The growing economy today includes innovative industries like renewable energy, biomedical research and scientific research.

But the healthy economy is not the only reason that the Houston jewelry scene is thriving. Houston is the largest city in the US with no formal zoning regulations. Who builds what and where is controlled only by some land use regulations and legal covenants. The city’s inhabitants have voted several times to reject zoning laws that would create separate commercial and residential districts. As a result, Houston does not have one central shopping district—stores and malls can pop up just about anywhere. With multiple shopping areas, it’s only natural that Houston jewelry stores are a numerous, varied and unusual bunch.

Diamond earrings

It’s not only finished diamond jewelry that has a home in Houston. Several well-known loose diamond retailers make their home in Houston, making the Houston diamond market as competitive as many global markets. Casual shoppers may be overwhelmed at first by the level of expertise and cutting-edge knowledge of the Houston diamond shopper.

Houston’s fortunes—and with it, it’s diamond jewelry market—just seem to get better and better. In 2006, Forbes ranked Houston the 3rd best place in the country for business. In 2008, Houston came out on top of Kiplinger’s Best Cities list. And most recently, in 2010, Forbes named Houston the number one city in the country for—most surprisingly of all—shopping!