Fine Diamond Jewellery · Bedfordview, Johannesburg
Diamond jewellery in South Africa, from the people who cut the diamonds.
Most South African diamond jewellery passes through several hands (a cutter, a wholesaler, a retailer) before it reaches a counter, each adding a margin. Prodiam is the unusual case where one house does the lot.
We buy rough diamonds at De Beers DBCM viewings and South African tender houses, cut and polish them in-house on our Bedfordview bench to GIA Excellent cut grade, and set them into finished jewellery on our own Bedfordview bench, engagement rings, wedding and eternity bands, earrings, pendants and tennis bracelets, then sell direct.
That is the rough-to-ring difference: GIA-certified natural diamonds, a landed price with no retail counter markup, every piece made to order, with insured delivery anywhere in South Africa.
Brief us on a piece Get a firm ZAR diamond price → Email Darren directly →
These are not marketing prices. Every figure below is a certified stone available to us today at a price you could pay this afternoon, taken from our own live inventory on 3 September 2026 and refreshed each time the site is published. Not a teaser, not a from-price on something already sold.
What a diamond costs in South Africa
From about R12 600 for a half-carat to R849 000 for a three-carat, at H colour and SI1 clarity, VAT and delivery included. Those are real stones, 86 554 of them available to us as this page was built.
| Weight | Typical price | Cheapest available | Available | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| half carat | R12 600 | R10 500 | 36 629 | See these → |
| 1 carat | R60 200 | R41 900 | 28 838 | See these → |
| 1.5 carat | R152 100 | R101 700 | 12 496 | See these → |
| 2 carat | R329 200 | R195 500 | 6 378 | See these → |
| 3 carat | R849 000 | R568 000 | 2 213 | See these → |
Typical is H colour and SI1 clarity, the spec most people actually buy and the one that looks white and clean to the eye. Cheapest is the entry point at that weight, usually a warmer J colour. Both are real stones you can look at.
No two diamonds are the same
A table describes a market, not a stone. Two diamonds identical on paper can differ by a third in price and both figures be right: how well the stone is actually cut and how much light it returns, where the inclusions sit and whether the eye finds them, how strongly it fluoresces, and how keenly that one happens to be priced against the international trade benchmark on the day. We check every stone against that benchmark before we show it to anybody, and the number that matters is the one quoted in writing on the stone you actually choose.
Ask us what your budget buys Search the live inventory →
Prices last updated 3 September 2026, from live market stock, rounded up to the next R100. A written quote is exact and usually does better.
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Natural diamonds only
Mined-Earth, never lab-grown, by conviction, not price. Kimberley-Process documented from the mine of origin. Why we don’t sell lab-grown →
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GIA & EGL certified
Every loose stone certified by the GIA or EGL. Cert PDF supplied per stone.
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Twenty-five years in the trade
Director Darren Etkind on the desk since 1995. Rough bought at De Beers DBCM viewings under the Emerging Beneficiation Customer programme since 2019.
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Insured delivery, SA & worldwide
Overnight across South Africa via Brink’s, G4S or our nominated jewellery courier. Insured worldwide dispatch via Ferrari Group and FedEx Custom Critical.
The bench behind the jewellery
The reason this page leads with the diamonds rather than the designs is that the diamond is where most of the value, and most of the markup, sits.
Prodiam is a South African diamond dealer and cutting house, directed by Darren Etkind, a member of the DGJASA (formerly the Diamond Dealers Club of South Africa) bourse and licensed by the SADPMR; our sister manufacturer D & D Diamonds has been a De Beers DBCM Emerging Beneficiation Customer since 2019.
We buy rough, we cut and polish it in-house on our Bedfordview bench to GIA Excellent cut grade, and only then do we make jewellery from it. A high-street jeweller starts where we finish, buying in a polished stone or a finished piece and adding a retail margin.
Starting one step earlier is what lets us price landed rather than retail, and it is what lets us match stones, the perfect pair of earrings, the river of a tennis bracelet, in a way a shop buying stones in cannot.
What we make, the full range
Everything below is made to order, set with natural diamonds we have cut or matched ourselves, and priced on application. Each links through to its own page, where the design choices, the stone grades and the process are set out in full.
- Diamond engagement rings Bespoke engagement rings built around a single hero stone, solitaire, halo, three-stone or hidden-halo, cut on our own bench or sourced to order and set to your brief.
- Wedding bands Plain and diamond-set wedding bands, men’s and women’s, with any accent stones matched on the bench to sit flush against the engagement ring.
- Eternity rings Full and half diamond eternity rings, calibrated stones matched the whole way round the band, cut on our own bench or sourced to order, as an anniversary piece or a wedding ring in its own right.
- Diamond earrings Stud, halo and drop earrings, the two centre stones matched into a perfect pair within one colour and one clarity grade, the thing only a cutter can do.
- Diamond pendants Solitaire, halo, three-stone and cluster pendants on a matched chain, the centre stone supplied with its own GIA report.
- Diamond necklaces Solitaire, station and pendant necklaces, the centre or line stones matched for colour and clarity and set on your choice of metal and chain.
- Tennis necklaces The line-necklace cousin of the tennis bracelet, a continuous run of matched diamonds around the neck, every stone graded and set to read as one river of light.
- Tennis bracelets Diamond tennis bracelets, every stone matched for colour, clarity and cut along the run so the line reads as one continuous river of light.
- Diamond bracelets The full bracelet range beyond the tennis line, bangle, station and line styles, each diamond matched on the bench and supplied on a GIA or EGL report.
- The ProJewel range Our fine-jewellery range and recent bench commissions, engagement rings, eternity bands, tennis pieces, earrings and pendants you can brief or take inspiration from.
- Loose diamonds Certified loose stones currently on the bench, ready to buy on their own or to set into any of the pieces above.
- Collections Curated one-off and themed pieces from the workshop, each made to order and priced on application.
If you would rather begin with the stone than the setting, you can search our live diamond inventory and see fully-landed ZAR prices on GIA-certified natural diamonds, then have us set the one you choose. Not sure which piece you are after? Tell us what the jewellery is for and Darren will point you the right way within 24 hours.
Why buy diamond jewellery direct
The case for buying from the cutter rather than the counter comes down to three things, price, provenance and control:
- Price built up, not marked up, you pay a landed stone price, referenced to the Rapaport list, plus transparent metal and making, instead of a single retail ticket with an opaque margin baked in. We quote firm, excl. VAT, before any work begins.
- One custody, fully traceable, the same house buys the rough, cuts it and sets it, so the diamond never leaves a documented chain. The certificate and a written insurance valuation on request travel with the finished piece.
- Stones matched, not just bought, because we read and sort on our own bench, we can match a perfect pair of studs, or every stone along a tennis line, within one colour and one clarity grade. A retailer buying stones in rarely matches this closely.
- Made to your brief, the shape, carat, colour and clarity range, design and metal are yours to set. Nothing is off-the-peg.
- Natural only, GIA primary, Prodiam works in natural, mined-Earth diamonds, certified by GIA or EGL, with GIA the primary laboratory.
How a piece is made to order
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Brief
Tell us the piece, the shape and carat weight, the colour and clarity range, the design and metal, your budget and your deadline. We respond within 24 hours.
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Stone & quote
We cut or match the diamonds on our Bedfordview bench, or source to your spec, and quote a firm ZAR figure, excl. VAT, against the stone, the metal and the making, before any work begins.
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Build & cast
The piece is built and cast in 18k white, yellow or rose gold, or platinum, with any calibrated side or matched accent stones prepared.
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Set & finish
Each diamond is set at the bench and the piece hand-polished to a mirror finish, then checked under loupe and microscope for quality control.
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Hand-over
Presentation at Bedfordview by appointment, or insured overnight courier nationwide via Brink’s or G4S. GIA / EGL certification included, and a written insurance valuation on request.
Whatever the piece, it comes from one bench, one custody, from rough to ring. When you know what you are after, head to the relevant page above, or simply brief us directly and Darren will come back within 24 hours.
Diamond jewellery in South Africa: common questions
What diamond jewellery does Prodiam make?
Prodiam makes the full range of fine diamond jewellery, all to order: diamond engagement rings, diamond wedding and eternity bands, diamond stud and drop earrings, diamond pendants and necklaces, and diamond tennis bracelets, plus the in-house ProJewel fine-jewellery range and one-off commissions such as three-stones, halos, signet rings and reset heirloom pieces.
We are a diamond dealer and cutting house, not a retailer, we also sell loose certified diamonds on their own, and you can source a stone live and have us set it. Everything is natural diamond, GIA or EGL certified, designed with you and manufactured on our Bedfordview bench.
Is it cheaper buying diamond jewellery direct from a bench?
As a rule, yes, because you remove a layer. A high-street jeweller buys a finished piece, or a polished stone, in from a wholesaler and adds a retail margin on top.
Prodiam buys the rough diamond at De Beers DBCM viewings and South African tender houses, cuts and polishes it in-house on our Bedfordview bench, and sets it on our own bench, so the diamond reaches you at a landed price, referenced to the Rapaport list, with no retail counter markup.
You also see exactly what you are paying for, the diamond, the metal and the making, rather than one opaque ticket price. Every piece is priced on application and quoted firm, excl. VAT, before any work begins.
Is all your diamond jewellery GIA certified?
Prodiam works in natural diamonds only, never lab-grown, and the stones are GIA or EGL certified, with GIA the primary laboratory. A larger centre stone is supplied with its own independent GIA report, and round brilliants are polished to the GIA Excellent cut standard, on our own bench where we cut the stone.
You receive the certification with the finished piece, together with a written valuation for insurance, and you can verify any GIA report number yourself against the GIA report-check service before you settle. The certificate travels with the diamond, not with our word for it.
Can I have a piece of diamond jewellery made to order?
Yes, made to order is the default, not a special service. Every Prodiam piece is built to your brief in Bedfordview: you set the shape, the carat weight, the colour and clarity range, the design and the metal, 18k white, yellow or rose gold, or platinum, and we cut or match the stones, build and cast the piece, set it at the bench and hand-polish it.
We work from a sketch, a reference photograph, or an heirloom you want reset. Most pieces run three to five weeks from approved brief to finished item; tell us your deadline and we will tell you honestly whether it is achievable.
Do you deliver diamond jewellery nationwide?
Yes, clients commission diamond jewellery from Cape Town, Durban, Pretoria, Gqeberha and across South Africa, not only Johannesburg. The brief and the stone-grade conversation happen by video or WhatsApp, you approve the diamond, the design and the metal, and the finished piece is delivered insured and overnight nationwide via Brink’s or G4S. Certification are included, and a written insurance valuation is available on request with every piece.
If you prefer, you are welcome to view and collect at our Bedfordview studio by appointment.