Director · Prodiam Trading · Founder & Director · Procut DCW
South Africa’s diamantaire.
The man behind every Prodiam stone.
Self-employed director in the South African diamond trade since January 1995. Three decades buying, manufacturing, trading and financing fine diamonds in this country. Most of the rough now comes through the De Beers Johannesburg viewing room (D and D Diamonds is a DBCM Emerging Beneficiation Customer since 2019); the rest from long-standing relationships with independent South African diggers and tender houses Darren has worked with since the Protea Diamonds years. Polished at the bench in Bedfordview, the same building as the GIA South Africa office, and signed across to the buyer at the end.
“Passionate about transforming South African Rough into world-class polished.”
Darren Etkind, LinkedIn
The career arc
- Wits B.Comm, business economics, University of the Witwatersrand.
- 1995 Started self-employed as a director in the SA diamond trade under the Prodiam Trading and Procut DCW brands. The Prodiam name predates Darren’s tenure; he took control of the customer-facing trading and finance house and has run it under his name since January 1995.
- 1995–2003 Concurrent eight-year stint as Rough Diamond Buyer at Protea Diamonds, where Darren learned to read rough parcels at scale before they ever reached a polishing wheel. The buying-side training that underpins the wholesale claim today.
- 2002 Founded D and D Diamonds CC, registered SA Closed Corporation (Reg. 2002/018001/23). The manufacturing entity Darren built from scratch, trading as Procut Diamond Cutting Works (DCW).
- 2019 D and D Diamonds appointed an Emerging Beneficiation Customer of De Beers Consolidated Mines (DBCM). Renewed every year since.
- 2026 Thirty-one years self-employed in SA fine diamonds. Current DBCM EBC contract for D and D Diamonds runs through December. Procut polishes to GIA Excellent / AGS Ideal cut grade for both wholesale trade and HNW private clients.
Why this matters for buyers
Most diamond buyers in South Africa transact through several layers of wholesalers and retailers between the mine and the ring. At Prodiam, the rough, the manufacturing and the trade live with the same person under the same roof. Most of the rough comes through the De Beers DBCM viewing room (Darren attends personally as the Key Individual on the D and D EBC contract); the rest from independent South African diggers Prodiam has dealt with for decades. Either way, the goods are polished at Procut to GIA Excellent / AGS Ideal cut at the bench Darren runs, and the customer relationship is held from the Bedfordview office under his name.
The wholesale claim works because that vertical chain is genuinely in-house. We cut them. You pay wholesale. Rare in this country. Unmatched in provenance.
Memberships & standards
- De Beers Consolidated Mines. D and D Diamonds is an Emerging Beneficiation Customer of DBCM, since 2019.
- Diamond Dealers Club of South Africa. Prodiam Trading is a member of the DDCSA, the apex SA diamond industry body, alongside roughly 200 leading SA manufacturers and dealers. (Verifiable in the public member directory at diamonds.org.za/members/.)
- Young Diamantaires. The global next-generation diamond network founded in Dubai in 2016, with 500+ members across 25 countries. D and D’s co-director Molefi Letsiki is the African Coordinator and a founding member.
- Kimberley Process. Full compliance, every rough parcel documented from mine of origin.
- SA Beneficiation Licence under the Diamonds Act 1986. Held by D and D Diamonds CC, valid through 2029.
- GIA & EGL. Every polished stone graded by the Gemological Institute of America to Excellent cut grade (GIA’s top), or by the European Gemological Laboratory. We do not stock or sell lab-grown stones, only natural, certified diamonds.
- De Beers Best Practice Principles. Compliance signed by Darren personally each contract cycle.
Co-directors of D and D Diamonds CC
D and D Diamonds CC is a SA-citizen-majority-owned beneficiation company, structured to qualify for and continually renew its DBCM EBC status. The directors:
- Darren Lance Etkind. Founder, Director, Key Individual on the EBC contract. The principal of the operation.
- Molefi Letsiki. Director. Chairman of the Diamond Dealers Club of South Africa. African Coordinator and a founding member of Young Diamantaires. CEO of Molefi Letsiki Diamonds, the first majority-black-owned De Beers Sightholder in South African history. Full biography →
- Sandile Tshepo Swartbooi. Director.
Independent press & verification
Third-party coverage and public registers, so nothing here has to be taken on trust.
- Sunday Times Strung, Nov / Dec 2022. Darren quoted as “owner of manufacturing and trading company Prodiam Trading” in the magazine’s analysis of how Western sanctions were reshaping the African rough-stone market. Read the issue on Issuu →
- Diamond Edit SA, “Where Johannesburg’s diamond money actually goes”. Long-read on the JHB diamond corridor; profiles Prodiam in the section One operation, twenty-five years. Read the piece →
- Diamond Edit SA, “The case for buying wholesale: a South African primer”. Buyer-side primer that cites Prodiam as a vertically-integrated SA dealer. Read the primer →
- Diamond Guide SA, editor’s independent review. Best-value SA diamond dealer pick, covering pricing, sourcing, manufacturing standard and certification. Read the review →
- Jewellers’ Network SA directory. Industry directory listing for Prodiam Trading CC. View the listing →
- DDCSA public member directory. Look up “Etkind D” under Prodiam Trading. diamonds.org.za/members/ →
Find Darren online
- LinkedIn → Darren Etkind
- Instagram → @prodiamtrading
- Facebook → Prodiam Trading
- Facebook → Procut Diamond
Reach Darren directly
For private viewings of investment-grade stones, custom commissions, and trade-account introductions, Darren handles the first conversation himself.