Diamonds & Engagement Rings · Bedfordview, Johannesburg
Diamonds in Johannesburg, direct from the people who cut them.
Prodiam is a director-led diamond dealer and working cutting house in Bedfordview, on the east side of Johannesburg, and, as best we know, the only Johannesburg cutting house where the director sells you the diamond his own bench has cut. We buy the rough, cut and polish it in-house at Procut DCW to GIA Excellent cut grade, and sell the polished stones direct: loose diamonds and bespoke engagement rings, GIA-certified and natural, with no importer, wholesaler or retail counter in between. Viewed by appointment in Bedfordview or live by video, priced on application, with insured delivery across Johannesburg, Sandton, Pretoria and the rest of South Africa.
Book a Johannesburg viewing See live ZAR diamond prices → Email Darren directly →
Cut and set in Bedfordview, yours made to order
-
2.25 ct round-brilliant solitaire, cut in Bedfordview -
18k white-gold 1.58 ct oval hidden-halo, set in-house -
2.53 ct double-halo engagement ring, set in-house
Past commissions, photographed at the Bedfordview bench. Each piece is made to order and priced on application; nothing shown is offered as stock.
-
Only natural diamonds
Mined-Earth, never lab-grown. Kimberley Process documented from the mine of origin.
-
GIA & EGL certified
Every loose stone certified by the GIA or EGL. Cert PDF supplied per stone.
-
Insured overnight delivery
Brink’s, G4S or our nominated jewellery courier across South Africa. Ferrari Group / FedEx Custom Critical international.
-
14-day in-person exchange
In-person sales at the viewing room come with a 14-day exchange courtesy on stock pieces. Distance-sale CPA cooling-off applies.
Where to buy diamonds in Johannesburg
Most diamonds sold across a Johannesburg shop counter have travelled a long way to get there, cut overseas, imported, passed to a wholesaler, then marked up again on the shop floor, with each hand taking a margin. Johannesburg is unusual, though, because it is where South Africa’s cutting industry actually sits: a handful of streets in and around Bedfordview, beside the De Beers DBCM rough viewings. Buying from a cutting house here, rather than a retail counter, removes those layers, you buy the stone from the people who polished it, in the city where it was cut.
That is what Prodiam is. We are a member of the Diamond Dealers Club of South Africa bourse and a working cutting house, run by director Darren Etkind from one Bedfordview address. The sister manufacturer, D and D Diamonds CC, has been a De Beers DBCM Emerging Beneficiation Customer since 2019, which is how rough reaches our own bench at Procut DCW rather than arriving already polished and marked up. We call the single-custody chain rough-to-ring; in plain terms, we cut them, and you pay wholesale.
The Bedfordview cutting house, by appointment
Prodiam is not a high-street shop you wander into on a Saturday. It is a viewing room in the same building as the cutting works, Suite F1W6, The Paragon, 1 Kramer Road, Bedfordview 2007, and you come by appointment, so the diamonds matched to your brief are pulled, certified and waiting on the daylight tray when you arrive, under loupe. The director who runs the bench is the person who sees you, not a salesperson on commission, and a first appointment usually runs three quarters of an hour to an hour, with no obligation to buy.
It is about ten minutes from OR Tambo International and a straight, central drive from Sandton, Rosebank, Pretoria and Centurion. If you would rather not cross Johannesburg at all, the very same viewing happens live on video or WhatsApp, with the stone under the microscope while we walk you through it and its report. To book, phone +27 11 334 9010, email darren@prodiam.co.za, or send your brief through the form and we will come back within 24 hours.
Loose diamonds and engagement rings, cutter-direct
Two ways in, depending on whether you want to start from the stone or the design:
- Loose diamonds, natural, GIA / EGL certified, across shape, carat, colour and clarity. See the stones currently on the bench, or set your exact spec and search a global certified inventory at live, fully-landed ZAR prices on source a diamond. A near-colourless, eye-clean one-carat round brilliant is the most-requested Johannesburg engagement spec, and cutting it in-house is what removes the retail markup.
- Engagement rings, every bespoke engagement ring is made to order on the Bedfordview bench, in 18k white, yellow or rose gold or platinum, around a centre stone polished to GIA Excellent cut grade. Solitaire, hidden halo, double halo, three-stone, designed to your brief, not pulled from a tray of stock settings.
- Certified, every time, Prodiam works in natural diamonds only, and every stone is supplied with its GIA (or EGL) report and a written valuation for insurance, so you can verify exactly what you are buying.
How a Johannesburg diamond price is built
There is no shelf price, because a diamond is priced on its own gemmology. Four things set most of the figure, the carat weight, and the colour, clarity and cut grade on the certificate, and then the metal and the setting on a finished ring. The reference the trade itself uses is the Rapaport wholesale list, and we price loose stones against it, so you are buying at the level the trade buys, not a retail markup dressed up as a discount. Because we cut and polish in-house, you pay that wholesale-direct stone price plus transparent manufacturing, and every stone is quoted as a firm ZAR figure, excl. VAT, before any work or commitment. The briefing on wholesale vs retail diamond pricing sets out the arithmetic, and the 4Cs of diamond grading explain what actually moves the number.
How buying in Johannesburg works
- 01
Brief
Tell us the stone or the ring, carat, colour and clarity range, shape, metal, budget and any deadline. Phone, email or the form; we respond within 24 hours.
- 02
View in Bedfordview
By appointment on the daylight tray under loupe, or live by video or WhatsApp if you would rather not travel across Johannesburg. Each candidate comes with its GIA or EGL report.
- 03
Quote
A firm ZAR figure, excl. VAT, against the wholesale list, before any work or commitment, the stone, and any manufacturing, itemised.
- 04
Cut, set or supply
Take the loose stone as it is, or have it set into a made-to-order engagement ring at the bench in your chosen metal and design.
- 05
Hand-over
Collection at Bedfordview by appointment, or insured overnight courier to Sandton, Pretoria or anywhere in South Africa. Certification and a written valuation included.
If you would rather start from a finished design, the made-to-order custom engagement rings come from this same Bedfordview bench; if you want to start from the stone, see the loose diamonds on the bench or source a diamond to your exact spec at live ZAR prices. When you are ready, book a Johannesburg viewing and Darren will come back within 24 hours.
Diamonds in Johannesburg: common questions
Where in Johannesburg are you?
We are in Bedfordview, on the east side of Johannesburg, Suite F1W6, The Paragon, 1 Kramer Road, Bedfordview 2007. The viewing room sits in the same building as the Procut DCW cutting works, which is the whole point: the diamonds are cut a few metres from where you see them, so there is no retail counter or middleman in between. We are about 10 minutes from OR Tambo International and a straight run from Sandton, Pretoria and the rest of Gauteng. Viewing is by appointment, so the stones for your brief are out on the daylight tray when you arrive. Phone +27 11 334 9010 or email darren@prodiam.co.za to book.
Can I view diamonds in person in Johannesburg?
Yes. You can see loose diamonds and finished engagement rings in person at the Bedfordview viewing room, by appointment, on the daylight tray and under loupe, including the stones shortlisted for your brief and their GIA reports. Because we cut in-house, we can usually show you a range across your colour, clarity and carat brief in one sitting and talk you through the trade-offs honestly. If you would rather not travel across Johannesburg, the same viewing happens live on video or WhatsApp, with the stone under the microscope while we walk you through it. Most clients view first, then decide; there is never any pressure to settle on the day.
Do you sell wholesale, or direct, in Johannesburg?
Yes, selling direct is the whole reason to buy from us. Prodiam is a Diamond Dealers Club of South Africa bourse member and a working cutting house, so we buy the rough, cut and polish it ourselves at Procut DCW, and sell the polished diamonds direct to private clients and to the trade. You pay a wholesale-direct stone price, referenced against the Rapaport wholesale list, plus transparent manufacturing, not a retail counter price that has passed through an importer, a wholesaler and a shop. You do not need a trade account; private buyers are welcome. Every stone is quoted as a firm ZAR figure, excl. VAT, before any work or commitment.
Do you serve Sandton and Pretoria?
Yes. Many of our Johannesburg clients come from Sandton, Rosebank, Pretoria, Centurion and across greater Gauteng, and Bedfordview is a short, central drive for all of them. You can come to the viewing room by appointment, or do the entire brief, viewing and selection remotely by video and WhatsApp if that is easier, the choice is yours. Whether you collect in Bedfordview or have the finished piece delivered, every diamond comes with its GIA or EGL report and a written valuation for insurance. Buyers further afield, anywhere in South Africa, are served the same way, with insured overnight courier.
Do I need an appointment?
Yes. We work by appointment rather than as a walk-in shop, and it is to your benefit: it means the stones matched to your brief are pulled, certified and waiting on the tray when you arrive, and that Darren, the director who runs the bench, is the one who sees you, not a salesperson on commission. A first appointment usually runs 45 minutes to an hour, with no obligation to buy. Phone +27 11 334 9010, email darren@prodiam.co.za, or send your brief through the contact form and we will come back within 24 hours to set a time that suits you.