By The Visit Israel Editorial Team · Last updated
Explore Tel Aviv's shopping culture with a local guide — Carmel Market spices, Nahalat Binyamin artisan stalls, Florentin design boutiques and the Levinsky spice district. Expert context on what to buy and where.
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From the Jaffa Flea Market antiques to the Hatikva neighbourhood silver workshops — Viator's Tel Aviv city tours cover the craft and design scene alongside the history.
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Stay in central Tel Aviv for easy access to the Ramat Gan Diamond Exchange (15 min by bus), the Nahalat Binyamin artisan market and Jaffa Flea Market.
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Israel is the world’s most concentrated diamond polishing and trading centre after Belgium and India. The country built this industry in the early 20th century, when skilled cutters emigrated to mandatory Palestine and established workshops that grew into one of the most sophisticated diamond supply chains on earth. For visitors, this creates a surprisingly accessible window into a world most tourists only encounter in duty-free showcases: the Ramat Gan Diamond Exchange, the largest diamond trading complex in the world, is less than 20 minutes from central Tel Aviv.
This guide covers what tourists can actually see and buy — from the Exchange plaza to the Eilat Stone, Israel’s unique national gemstone.
The Israel Diamond Exchange (known in Hebrew as HaBursa — “The Exchange”) occupies four interconnected towers on Jabotinsky Street in Ramat Gan, 15 minutes east of Tel Aviv by bus. The complex is the largest of its kind globally, housing around 3,000 dealers, polishing workshops, grading laboratories and trading floors under one address.
The trading floors inside the towers are strictly wholesale — B2B transactions between licensed dealers only. But the outdoor Mazal U’Bracha plaza (“Luck and Blessing square”) at the base of the complex is publicly accessible and remarkable to observe. This open-air space is where much of the informal deal-making tradition plays out: diamond dealers clinching transactions with the centuries-old verbal handshake and the exchange of “Mazal u’Bracha” (the phrase seals the deal in lieu of written contracts, a tradition that dates to the medieval Jewish diamond trade in Antwerp).
On weekday mornings you can watch dealers at small tables, examining stones through loupes, handing parcels of diamonds between colleagues in folded paper packets. The atmosphere is businesslike, not theatrical — but it is genuinely unlike anything else a tourist typically encounters.
Several retail showrooms and tourist-facing jewellers operate in and around the Exchange. These are not the same as the wholesale floors — they are licensed retailers who happen to be based in the Diamond Exchange precinct and cater to private buyers. Prices are not lower than at a reputable Tel Aviv or Jerusalem jeweller (the Exchange wholesale discount does not pass through to tourist retail), but you are buying from professionals who handle certified stones daily.
Look for GIA-certified stones with the accompanying report. The IGI (International Gemological Institute) also maintains a grading laboratory in Ramat Gan — IGI certification is widely accepted and used alongside GIA for Israeli-polished stones.
The Eilat Stone is the only gemstone mined exclusively in Israel — and it is not found anywhere else on earth. It is a composite mineral formed in the ancient copper mines of the southern Negev near Eilat, combining azurite, malachite, turquoise and chrysocolla in layered swirling patterns of blue-green, teal and turquoise. Each piece is visually unique; the colour pattern depends on the local mineral ratios where the stone formed.
The copper mines near Eilat have been worked since the time of King Solomon — historically called the “Mines of Solomon” — and the Eilat Stone’s distinctive appearance has made it a symbol of Israel in local jewellery culture for decades.
Price guide (2026): small earrings and pendants from around ₪80–150; pendants with silver settings ₪200–350; rings ₪250–500 depending on the stone size and silver weight. These are ranges only — actual prices vary by seller and stone quality.
Beyond diamonds, Israel has a living tradition of silver craftsmanship rooted in the large-scale immigration of Yemenite Jewish artisans in the mid-20th century. Yemenite filigree silverwork — hand-drawn silver wire twisted and woven into intricate floral and geometric patterns — is genuinely distinctive and largely unavailable outside Israel.
The best places to find it:
Certification: For significant diamond or gemstone purchases, always request the GIA or IGI grading report. The report number is laser-inscribed on the stone and verifiable online — it is the only reliable assurance of what you are buying.
VAT refund: Purchases above ₪400 at Tax Refund-participating shops qualify for a 17% VAT reclaim at Ben Gurion Airport. Most established jewellery shops participate. Keep all receipts and the Tax Refund vouchers. See the Israel VAT refund guide for the full airport process.
Kimberley Process: All diamonds traded by licensed Israeli dealers carry Kimberley Process certification (conflict-free supply chain). Ask the retailer to confirm; reputable dealers confirm routinely.
Lab-grown diamonds: Increasingly available in Israeli jewellery shops at substantially lower prices than mined equivalents (identical in chemical composition; clearly labelled in modern shops). If this is relevant to your purchase decision, ask explicitly — Israeli retailers are familiar with the distinction.
Bargaining: Not standard practice at established jewellers or Exchange-adjacent retailers. At market stalls (Jaffa Flea Market, some Old City shops) there is some flexibility on silver and Eilat Stone pieces. Fixed-price boutiques and all certified diamond retailers work on posted prices.
For the full picture of shopping in Israel — markets, souvenirs, Dead Sea cosmetics and Israeli wine — see the Israel shopping guide.
The outdoor Mazal U'Bracha plaza — the open-air space where much of the deal-making tradition plays out — is publicly accessible and interesting to observe. The trading floors inside the four towers are wholesale-only (B2B between licensed dealers), so tourists cannot buy directly there. However, several retail jewellers and tourist-facing showrooms operate in and around the Exchange complex and welcome walk-in visitors. Look for signs indicating retail sales; these shops carry certified stones with GIA documentation.
The Eilat Stone is a composite mineral found exclusively in the copper mines near Eilat, in the southern Negev. It combines azurite, malachite, turquoise and chrysocolla in a distinctive swirling blue-green pattern that varies from piece to piece. It is the closest thing Israel has to a nationally unique gemstone souvenir. You can find Eilat Stone jewelry at reputable jewellery shops in Eilat itself, at the Machane Yehuda and Carmel Market jewellery stalls, and at Ben Gurion Airport duty-free. Prices for small set pieces start around ₪80–150; larger pendants and rings run ₪200–500. Buy from a named shop (not an unmarked street stall) to ensure the stone is genuine and not dyed or glass.
Reputable Israeli diamond retailers sell GIA-certified stones (Gemological Institute of America) — the globally accepted grading benchmark. A GIA report number is laser-inscribed on the girdle of the diamond and corresponds to a verifiable online report at gia.edu. Stones sold without documentation are not necessarily inferior, but you cannot independently verify their grade. If you are buying a significant stone, always request the GIA certificate or IGI (International Gemological Institute) report. IGI has a grading laboratory in Ramat Gan.
Israel has a strong silver-craft tradition rooted partly in Yemenite Jewish artisans who immigrated in the mid-20th century. Yemenite-style filigree silverwork — delicate hand-drawn wire twisted into floral and geometric patterns — is genuinely distinctive and largely unavailable outside Israel. The Hatikva market in south Tel Aviv is the original home of this craft; Machane Yehuda has established silversmiths alongside the food stalls; and the Jerusalem Old City Jewish Quarter shops sell Yemenite-style kiddush cups, mezuzot and rings. Sterling silver (925) is standard; look for the 925 hallmark stamped inside rings and on clasps.
Yes — foreign tourists buying goods at shops displaying the Tax Refund sign are eligible to reclaim the 17% VAT on purchases above ₪400 in a single transaction. Keep your receipts and the Tax Refund vouchers issued at the time of purchase; present them at the VAT refund desk at Ben Gurion Airport before check-in. The refund is processed in cash (shekels) or to your credit card. Larger jewelry purchases at established Diamond Exchange retailers almost always participate in the scheme. See the Israel VAT refund guide for the full process.
Israel's diamond industry operates under the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, which requires stones to be certified as conflict-free. Israeli-polished diamonds carry a Kimberley Process certificate by default when trading between licensed dealers. When purchasing retail, you can ask the seller to confirm the stone's Kimberley Process status — reputable dealers will confirm immediately. Lab-grown diamonds (identical in chemical composition to mined diamonds) are increasingly available in Israel and are clearly labelled in modern jewellery shops; prices are substantially lower than equivalent mined stones.
By The Visit Israel Editorial Team · Last updated