FAQs

The Cape Town Diamond Museum is open daily, Monday to Sunday, from 9:00am to 8:00pm.

General admission is R400 per person.

We're on Level 1 of the Clock Tower at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town, in the Gateway to Robben Island building, a short walk from the Two Oceans Aquarium and Zeitz MOCAA.

Yes, bookings are essential to guarantee your spot, especially in peak season.

A guided tour takes around 30-45 minutes, depending on group size and engagement, and ends with a visit to the Shimansky showroom.

Yes, interactive displays and guided storytelling make it enjoyable for the whole family.

Yes, the V&A Waterfront offers ample parking, including secure options close to the Clock Tower precinct.

The museum sits inside the Clock Tower building at the Gateway to Robben Island, making it an easy add-on to a Robben Island tour or a wider Waterfront visit on foot.

Yes, the Cape Town Diamond Museum is accessible to visitors with limited mobility. The museum is located on Level 1 of the Clock Tower Building at the V&A Waterfront, with lift access from the ground floor. Please mention any accessibility requirements when booking so our team can assist you on arrival.

Photography is permitted in designated areas of the museum. Your guide will indicate where photographs may be taken during the tour. For security reasons, photography may be restricted in certain display and showroom areas - your guide will be happy to suggest the best photo opportunities, including views across the V&A Waterfront harbour.

The museum is a 10-15 minute drive from the Cape Town city centre and approximately 25 minutes from Cape Town International Airport. Uber and Bolt operate throughout Cape Town, the MyCiTi bus network serves the V&A Waterfront, and most Waterfront hotels are within easy walking distance. Secure parking is available at the Clock Tower parking garage directly beside the museum.

Yes. The Cape Town Diamond Museum welcomes tour groups and works closely with tour operators, travel agents, and DMCs. Situated directly opposite the Robben Island Gateway, the museum is an ideal addition to any V&A Waterfront itinerary. Group visits should be booked in advance; groups larger than 10 adults may be split into smaller guided groups for the best experience. Trade enquiries can be made through the museum's booking office.

The museum sits in the heart of the V&A Waterfront, Africa's most visited destination. Within walking distance you'll find the Robben Island ferry departure point, the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (Zeitz MOCAA), the Two Oceans Aquarium, the Cape Wheel, harbour cruises, and world-class restaurants and shopping. Many visitors combine a morning Robben Island tour with an afternoon museum visit.

Natural diamonds are formed from carbon under extreme heat and pressure, approximately 150–200 kilometres deep within the Earth's mantle, over a period of 1 to 3 billion years. They are carried to the Earth's surface by ancient volcanic eruptions through kimberlite pipes - named after Kimberley, South Africa, where this diamond-bearing rock was first identified. At the museum you can see genuine kimberlite specimens and follow the complete journey from formation to finished gem.

The 4Cs - Cut, Colour, Clarity, and Carat weight - are the international standard for assessing diamond quality, established by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA). Cut determines a diamond's brilliance and fire; Colour grades the absence of colour; Clarity measures natural inclusions; and Carat measures weight. During your museum tour, a diamond professional will explain how each of the 4Cs influences a diamond's beauty and value.

A rough diamond is the natural, uncut crystal as it is recovered from the earth, while a polished diamond has been precisely cut and faceted by a master craftsman to release its brilliance, fire, and scintillation. On average, a rough diamond loses 50–60% of its weight during cutting - a process you can watch live at the museum's diamond cutting and polishing viewing area.

Tanzanite is a violet-blue gemstone found in only one place on Earth: a small area at the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. Discovered in 1967, it is estimated to be 1,000 times rarer than diamonds, and known reserves are expected to be depleted within a generation - making tanzanite a true single-generation gemstone. After your museum tour, you can view one of the world’s finest collections of natural tanzanite in the adjacent Shimansky showroom.

A natural diamond's authenticity and quality are verified by an independent grading certificate from an internationally recognised laboratory such as the Gemological Institute of America (GIA). Ethical sourcing is ensured through the Kimberley Process, which certifies that diamonds are conflict-free. South African diamonds are among the most trusted in the world, mined under strict regulation. Diamonds in the Shimansky showroom are sourced directly from South African mines and cut and polished in Cape Town, giving full traceability from mine to finger.

The first recorded South African diamond, the 21.25-carat Eureka Diamond, was discovered in 1867 near Hopetown on the banks of the Orange River - found by a 15-year-old boy named Erasmus Jacobs. This discovery, followed by the 83.5-carat Star of South Africa in 1869, sparked the great diamond rush that transformed South Africa and the global diamond industry.

The Kimberley Diamond Rush began in 1871 when diamonds were discovered on a small hill that became the town of Kimberley. Tens of thousands of diggers excavated by hand what became the Big Hole - one of the largest hand-dug excavations on Earth, yielding over 2,700 kilograms of diamonds. The rush gave rise to the modern diamond industry and to names like Cecil Rhodes, Barney Barnato, and later the Oppenheimer family. The museum's immersive mine display brings this era to life at the V&A Waterfront.

The Cullinan Diamond is the largest gem-quality rough diamond ever found - 3,106 carats, discovered at the Premier Mine near Pretoria, South Africa, in 1905. It was cut into nine major stones, the two largest of which, the Great Star of Africa and the Second Star of Africa, are set in the British Crown Jewels. A life-size replica of the Cullinan is on display at the Cape Town Diamond Museum, alongside replicas of other legendary diamonds including the Hope and the Taylor-Burton.

Yes. South Africa remains one of the world's significant diamond producers, with a heritage spanning more than 150 years and some of the industry's most advanced mining, cutting, and polishing expertise. Cape Town is home to world-class diamond cutting and jewellery manufacturing - a living tradition you can witness at the museum's cutting and polishing viewing area.

Buying a diamond in South Africa offers real advantages: you are buying at the source, from a country with over 150 years of diamond heritage, often with fewer intermediaries between the mine and the finished piece. International visitors also qualify for a VAT refund (currently 15%) on jewellery purchases when departing South Africa, which meaningfully reduces the final price. Beyond price, buying in Cape Town means provenance: diamonds sourced directly from South African mines and cut and polished locally.

International visitors can claim back the 15% Value-Added Tax on jewellery purchased in South Africa when departing the country. Present your original tax invoice, your passport, and the purchased item at the VAT Refund office at Cape Town International Airport (or your final point of departure) before checking in your luggage. The Shimansky showroom team will prepare the correct documentation for you at the time of purchase.

Yes. Bespoke design is a signature of the Cape Town jewellery tradition. At the Shimansky showroom adjacent to the museum, you can consult with a diamond expert, select your diamond or tanzanite, and have a piece designed and crafted locally - with international shipping and insured delivery available if your creation is completed after you travel home. Many visitors begin their engagement ring journey this way, at the source of the world’s most storied diamonds.

Yes. Purchases can be fully insured and shipped door-to-door internationally, with all certification and documentation included. This allows visitors to commission bespoke pieces during their stay and receive them securely at home — a common choice for custom engagement rings and one-of-a-kind designs.

Inside a cutting factory, a rough diamond is first analysed and mapped - today with 3D scanning technology - to plan the cut that will maximise its beauty and value. It is then cleaved or sawn, bruted into shape, and faceted and polished by master cutters on rotating cast-iron wheels coated with diamond dust, since only a diamond can cut a diamond. The process demands years of training; a single misjudged facet can dramatically change a stone's value. You can watch this craft live at the museum's viewing area.

A patented diamond cut is an original facet arrangement, protected by international design patents, that produces a distinctive optical performance - a unique pattern of brilliance, fire, and symmetry that cannot be legally copied. South Africa has produced several internationally patented cuts, including the first-ever South African patented diamond cut. During your visit to the adjacent Shimansky showroom, you can view signature patented cuts and see how they differ from classic round brilliants under the light.