Your Questions, Answered

Diamond Tours South Africa designs private diamond experiences across South Africa. Each one follows a diamond's journey, from the geology and history behind South Africa's diamonds to the cutting floor and the jeweller's bench, led by gemmologists, master cutters and jewellers.

The company behind it is Diamond Tours (Pty) Ltd, registered in South Africa (registration number 2026/805009/07).

Our experiences run in Cape Town, along the Atlantic seaboard and in the Franschhoek valley of the Cape Winelands. Journeys to Kimberley, home of the Big Hole, and to Cullinan near Pretoria are coming soon.

Your concierge can also build a diamond experience into a wider South African itinerary, with Table Mountain, Cape Point, fine dining or luxury accommodation.

Travellers who are curious about the story and craft behind diamonds: first-time visitors to Cape Town, couples planning a proposal or an anniversary, jewellery lovers, and anyone who has wondered how a rough stone becomes a polished diamond.

These are our current experiences:

• Diamond Discovery: The history, science and craftsmanship behind South Africa's diamonds. 2 to 3 hours, Cape Town, from R1,200 pp.
• Behind the Diamond: Private access to the cutting and polishing floor, guided by a master craftsman. Half day, Cape Town, from R2,500 pp.
• Diamond & Wine: A morning with diamonds, an afternoon among Franschhoek's historic estates. Full day, Cape Town and Franschhoek, from R4,800 pp.
• Diamond Romance: A private jeweller, a ring of your own design, and sunset over the Atlantic. Full day, Cape Town, from R5,900 pp.

Each one can be tailored to you, or combined into a longer journey.

Yes. Behind the Diamond takes you onto a working cutting floor in Cape Town, where a master craftsman shows how a rough stone is planned, bruted and faceted at the wheel. The half day ends in a private viewing room, and return transfers in Cape Town are included.

Yes. Diamond Romance begins with a private consultation with a master jeweller, who helps you choose a stone and design a ring around it. While the piece is crafted, the day continues along the Atlantic seaboard and ends at a private sunset setting. The ring itself is not included in the experience price.

Yes. Diamond Romance was designed for proposals, anniversaries and promises worth keeping. Your concierge arranges a private sunset setting for the moment itself, and can add a photographer or private dining. Tell us what you have in mind and every detail is shaped around it.

Yes. Diamond & Wine pairs a private morning diamond workshop in Cape Town with an afternoon in Franschhoek: lunch at a celebrated wine estate restaurant, a private tasting and time in the vineyards, with a private chauffeured vehicle throughout the day.

Diamond Discovery takes two to three hours. A gemmologist explains how diamonds form, tells the story of South Africa's first diamond finds and shows you how to grade a stone under a loupe. It can be private or in a small group.

For most experiences, yes. Behind the Diamond includes return transfers in Cape Town, Diamond & Wine includes a private chauffeured vehicle for the day, and Diamond Romance includes a chauffeured drive along the Atlantic seaboard. For anything else, your concierge can arrange transfers as part of your journey.

Kimberley journeys are coming soon. The Big Hole is where South Africa's great diamond rush began in 1871. It was dug largely by hand until 1914, reaching around 240 metres deep and about 460 metres across, and yielded roughly 2,700 kg of diamonds.

If Kimberley is on your list, mention it in your enquiry.

Kimberley is in the Northern Cape, roughly 480 km by road from Johannesburg (about five hours) and around 960 km from Cape Town. The city also has an airport with scheduled domestic flights.

Cullinan is a small mining town about 40 km east of Pretoria. On 26 January 1905 its Premier Mine produced the Cullinan, a 3,106-carat rough diamond and the largest gem-quality rough diamond ever found. Its two largest polished stones, the 530.2-carat Great Star of Africa and the 317.4-carat Second Star of Africa, are part of the British Crown Jewels.

Cullinan journeys are coming soon. Read the story of the Cullinan.

Our experiences start from R1,200 per person. Prices are set in South African rand and depend on the experience, the number of guests and anything you add. Longer bespoke journeys are quoted individually by your concierge.

Yes. Use the currency switcher at the top of any page to see prices in rand, US dollars or euros, converted at the latest exchange rate. The price you see is the price recorded with your enquiry.

Send an enquiry from any experience page, or use Build Your Journey on the homepage. A Diamond Concierge then designs your itinerary around your dates, interests and travel style, and confirms the details, price and booking terms with you before anything is booked.

Yes. Build Your Journey asks four questions: what draws you to diamonds, how long you have in South Africa, what you would like to add (Table Mountain, the Winelands, Cape Point, fine dining, shopping or luxury accommodation) and how you like to travel. Your concierge shapes a private itinerary from your answers.

Behind the Diamond and Diamond Romance are private. Diamond & Wine is a private day with your own chauffeured vehicle, and Diamond Discovery can be private or in a small group.

In 1867 a boy named Erasmus Jacobs found a 21.25-carat diamond, later called the Eureka, near Hopetown on the Orange River. In 1871 diamonds were found on a hill on the farm Vooruitzigt, starting the rush that created Kimberley and the Big Hole.

Read the history of Kimberley's diamond rush.

Carat, colour, clarity and cut. Carat is weight (one carat is 0.2 grams). Colour is graded from D, colourless, to Z. Clarity describes the tiny inclusions and blemishes visible under 10x magnification. Cut describes how well the facets handle light, and it has the greatest effect on how a diamond looks.

The 4Cs, explained.

Both are real diamonds, with the same crystal structure, hardness and way of handling light. A natural diamond formed deep in the earth over one to three billion years. A lab-grown diamond is made in a few weeks, by high pressure and high temperature (HPHT) or by chemical vapour deposition (CVD).

The two cannot be told apart by eye, but a gemmological laboratory can tell the difference, and a reputable grading report will say which it is. Lab-grown diamonds cost considerably less, and their resale value is generally much lower. Natural and lab-grown diamonds.

South Africa's diamond story goes back to 1867, and Cape Town is home to skilled diamond cutters and jewellers. Wherever you buy, choose cut first, look for a stone that is clean to the eye, and ask for a grading report from an independent gemmological laboratory. On Diamond Romance, you choose your stone side by side with a master jeweller.