Sell jewellery to Prodiam · Bedfordview, Johannesburg
Sell your jewellery to the people who remake it.
A piece of jewellery is almost always two assets: the stones and the metal. Some buyers pay a fraction and keep the difference. Prodiam is a working diamond cutting house: we re-cut and re-set the diamonds, so we value both the stones and the metal honestly, against public benchmarks, and show you the working before you part with anything.
Fast track · about fifteen seconds
Tell us three things and the desk can answer you properly.
Darren reads every message himself. These three answers let him give you a real indication instead of a list of questions, so you hear something useful first time.
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1 What are you selling?
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2 Do you have a certificate for it?
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3 Roughly what size is the main stone?
Before you send photographs, worth knowing
Plenty of pieces that come to the desk turn out to be cubic zirconia, moissanite, white sapphire or glass, usually inherited or bought years ago in good faith. That is a normal thing to discover and nobody minds, but a photograph cannot settle it, and neither can we from one. Two quick checks at home will tell you a great deal:
- The breath test. Breathe on the stone. A diamond clears almost instantly because it disperses heat; glass and cubic zirconia stay fogged for a couple of seconds.
- The read-through test. Place a loose stone flat side down over a line of newsprint. Through a real round brilliant you will not be able to read the letters or see a straight line through it.
- The stamp. Look inside the band for 750, 585, 375, 18K, 14K, 9K or PT. Fine stones are rarely set in unmarked base metal, so an unmarked mount is a useful signal.
One thing the home tests cannot tell you: a lab-grown diamond is still a diamond physically, so it passes every one of them. Only instruments or a certificate separate it from a natural stone, which is why a GIA or EGL report is worth having. We are a natural-diamond house and do not buy lab-grown.
These are indicators, not proof, and the only real answer is instruments. We are happy to test an uncertified piece properly at the Bedfordview desk, free and with no obligation, and if it is not a diamond we will tell you straight away and you have lost nothing but the trip. If it is, you will have a number the same day.
Your message is ready
Send it on WhatsApp Rather use the form
Attach a photograph in the chat when it opens, and the certificate if you have one. Darren replies within 24 hours, Monday to Friday.
The published rate · price updates daily from the live gold feed
The metal floor, before your stones.
The gold price, times your karat’s purity, times your weight, less our published 10%. Same rate for everyone, no haggling on the day. Weigh it on any kitchen scale to get your ballpark now.
Your estimate for today
R14 803
10 g × 75% × R2 193/g fine × 0.90
That is approximately what you would walk out with today for gold jewellery. The gold price moves every day; our published less-10% never does. Signed and designer pieces are valued case by case, usually above this floor: ask for a quote, no obligation.
That is the metal floor only. Diamonds and gemstones in the piece are valued separately when we see them, and paid on top.
Reference gold price R2 193/g fine, checked 25 July 2026. The live figure loads here and refreshes daily.
No fee, no obligation, no pressure. Bring someone with you if you like, and if the number does not suit you, you take your gold home. Most people are done in under an hour.
- 1 WhatsApp a photo and the weight Or just the weight and karat if it is stamped. Takes two minutes.
- 2 We agree a price and a time An honest figure against the day’s gold price, and a slot that suits you.
- 3 We test and weigh it in front of you XRF analyser reads the karat, calibrated scale confirms the weight. Any stones are valued on top.
- 4 We buy it and pay you out Figure in writing first. FICA-compliant bank transfer, typically cleared within 72 hours.
Why the number is fairer
Two values, added up honestly, not one blind number.
The stones
Natural diamonds are benchmarked to the Rapaport price list on the day, with documented adjustments for cut, clarity, colour, fluorescence and certification. Uncertified stones can be re-graded through GIA South Africa in the same building.
The metal
Gold and platinum are valued on weight times purity times the day’s metal spot. So the setting is never treated as worthless, it carries real, measured value.
Paid on both
You are paid for the stone and the metal separately and transparently. A gold-only buyer keeps your diamond; a diamond-only buyer ignores your gold. We are both, so nothing is left on the table.
What we buy
Diamond, gold, estate, signed, broken.
Diamond jewellery
Engagement rings, eternity bands, tennis bracelets and necklaces, studs, pendants. The natural diamonds are valued against the Rapaport sheet, the gold or platinum against the metal spot, and you are paid on both.
Gold & fine jewellery
Chains, bangles, signet rings, brooches, cufflinks, charm bracelets, earrings. Worn, dated or unfashionable makes no difference; the metal is valued on its content against the day’s spot.
Estate & inherited pieces
Whole estates, partial estates or a single inherited item. We work with executors, deceased-estate attorneys and beneficiaries, settle direct to the estate account, and keep a photographic record of every piece valued.
Signed & period jewellery
Cartier, Tiffany, Boucheron, Bulgari, Graff, Harry Winston, Chopard and other named houses. Provenance papers help but are not essential. Where a piece carries a real maker premium, we tell you.
Broken & single pieces
One earring, a snapped chain, a stone loose from its setting, a ring that no longer fits. We dismount the stones, value the metal on its content, and pay on each component honestly, nothing written off for being incomplete.
What we cannot value: lab-grown or synthetic diamonds (no comparable resale market today), cubic zirconia, moissanite and other simulants, and costume jewellery with no precious-metal content. If you are unsure what you have, send a photo and we will tell you honestly.
The published rate
We pay the live gold price, less 10%. Published, not negotiated.
your payout = grams× karat purity× live fine-gold price× 0.90
| Karat | Purity | We pay per gram |
|---|---|---|
| 24 ct | 99.9% | R1 971,70 |
| 22 ct | 91.7% | R1 809,27 |
| 18 ct | 75.0% | R1 480,25 |
| 14 ct | 58.3% | R1 151,24 |
| 9 ct | 37.5% | R740,13 |
Worked at a reference fine-gold price of R2 192,97 per gram of pure 24 ct gold, checked 25 July 2026. The live figure loads on this page and refreshes daily from the market feed.
- Gold jewellery. The live gold price less 10%. That is the published floor, and it is the same for everyone.
- Signed, designer and finished pieces. A signed or wearable piece is usually worth more intact than it is as metal, so it is valued case by case on its own merits and generally beats the published floor. Ask for a quote; there is no obligation either way.
- Diamonds and gemstones set in the piece. Valued separately against the Rapaport sheet and paid on top of the metal. Most gold buyers hand your stones back or ignore them. We are a diamond house, so we can price them and buy them.
Check us before you arrive. Weigh the piece at home and run the number yourself. A kitchen scale gets you the ballpark, not the last decimal, so on the desk our XRF analyser confirms the karat and our calibrated scale confirms the weight, in front of you. You get the figure in writing before anything is agreed. We buy outright: this is a sale, not a loan.
It is safe to bring it in
Carrying gold to an unfamiliar address is the real hesitation, so here is the honest answer. The Paragon is a secured diamond-industry building: armed security, access control at entry, and secure underground parking, so you walk from your car to the desk without stepping onto the street. The South African offices of GIA and EGL operate under the same roof. Viewings are private and by appointment, one client at a time. See how visiting works.
Where your gold actually goes
It does not disappear into someone else’s melting pot. Your metal is reclaimed and comes back as new jewellery, made at our SADPMR-inspected workshop. Stones we buy are re-set into new pieces, not discarded. Reclaimed gold carries a fraction of the footprint of newly mined gold, so buying it back keeps metal that already exists in circulation instead of sitting in a drawer.
WhatsApp a photo and the weight Submit it for a written valuation → Book a Bedfordview viewing →
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Twenty-five years in the trade
Director Darren Etkind on the desk since 1995. Co-director Molefi Letsiki, president of the South African diamond bourse (DGJASA), on the manufacturing entity since 2019.
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Same-address GIA verify
GIA South Africa office is in our building. On-the-spot re-grading on request before settlement.
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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.
How it works
From photo to cleared funds, four steps.
- 01
Send photos & any papers
Use the buy-back form or WhatsApp. Clear photos front and side, any hallmark, and any diamond certificate. Note anything you know about the piece’s history.
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Indicative valuation, in 48 hours
We reply with a rand range, the diamonds against Rapaport and the metal against spot, with the assumptions written out. Free, no obligation.
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Inspection & firm offer
Bring the piece to Bedfordview by appointment or send it via insured Brink’s courier. We inspect under loupe and microscope, confirm the metal on our scale, and issue a firm offer.
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Cleared funds, or an upgrade
On acceptance, FICA-compliant settlement clears in about 72 hours for SA sellers. Or put the value toward a new piece under the Upgrade Promise. Your choice.
Selling jewellery in South Africa
Frequently asked questions.
Where can I sell jewellery in South Africa for a fair price?
Sell to a manufacturer, not a reseller. A resale-only buyer discounts your jewellery for the risk of holding and re-selling it as-is, so their offer is a fraction of the real worth. Prodiam is a Bedfordview cutting house: we re-cut, re-set and re-supply the diamonds, so we value the assets themselves rather than the resale-as-is risk. Diamonds are benchmarked to the Rapaport sheet, gold and platinum to the metal spot, and the working is shown to you before you decide.
How much is my second-hand jewellery worth?
A piece of jewellery is usually two values added together: the metal and the stones. The metal is its weight times purity times the day’s spot price. Natural diamonds are valued against the Rapaport sheet with documented adjustments for cut, clarity, colour and certification. Costume value, brand markup and the original retail price do not carry over, what you are paid is the honest asset value, benchmarked to public references rather than an opaque margin.
Can I sell jewellery I inherited or from a deceased estate?
Yes, this is a large part of what we do. We work with executors, deceased-estate attorneys and family beneficiaries, with FICA-compliant settlement paid direct to the estate account and a photographic record of every item valued. You must be the legal owner or hold written authority (letters of executorship, or the owner’s written mandate). Everything is handled confidentially, and there is no obligation to sell after a valuation.
Do you buy jewellery without the diamond certificate?
Yes. A certificate helps us give a tighter figure up front, but if a stone is uncertified we can submit it to GIA South Africa, in the same building as our bench, and re-grade it before final settlement, faster than couriering it elsewhere. Either way the diamond is Rapaport-benchmarked and the metal is priced against the day’s spot.
Is a manufacturing jeweller different from other buyers when selling jewellery?
Fundamentally, yes. A resale-only buyer values your jewellery at its resale-as-is risk and often pays a small fraction of true worth, in instant cash. As a manufacturer-direct cutting house, we value the diamond and the metal on what they are actually worth, because we can re-cut and re-set the stones rather than gamble on re-selling the piece as it stands, and we settle by verified bank transfer with full FICA paperwork. The trade-off is that we work by appointment to a benchmark, not cash over a counter, but the number is honest and the funds are clean.
What if I would rather upgrade than take cash?
Then trade up instead. Our Upgrade Promise lets you put the value of an existing piece toward something larger or rarer at the bench, with Prodiam-original stones earning the highest credit. Many clients sell one inherited piece and put it toward a ring they will actually wear. Tell us which you would prefer and we will show you both numbers.
Find out what your jewellery is really worth.
Send a photo for an honest, no-obligation figure, benchmarked to Rapaport and the metal spot. Sell for cleared funds, or trade it up.
Submit my jewellery Selling gold → Selling a loose diamond →