#3 of 199 things to do in Cape Town Central

Speciality Museums

9:00 AM - 7:00 PM

Monday

9:00 AM - 7:00 PM

Tuesday

9:00 AM - 7:00 PM

Wednesday

9:00 AM - 7:00 PM

Thursday

9:00 AM - 7:00 PM

Friday

9:00 AM - 7:00 PM

Saturday

9:00 AM - 7:00 PM

Sunday

9:00 AM - 7:00 PM

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About

The Cape Town Diamond Museum pays tribute to the world's most precious gem, the diamond. Discover a 3 billion year old story unfold from a diamond's formation to the final polished stone. The Cape Town Diamond Museum also pays homage to the most famous South African diamonds and showcases specimens of Kimberlite rock dating billions of years old. Situated in the bustling heart of the Clock Tower precinct at the V&A Waterfront, the Cape Town Diamond Museum is a must-see for any visitor to Cape Town. Book in advance recommended.

Duration: 1-2 hours

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See what travellers are saying

Rasalghul G
2 contributions
Excellent
We were spontaneously in the museum due to the weather. We are very happy with the decision. Through our tour guide Marlene we learned a lot of interesting things about diamonds.We were shown a lot in the showroom and we were also allowed to try on many pieces of jewelry and look at them from the close.I can recommend it to anyone who wants to learn something about the history of the diamonds or maybe plans to buy the tour.
Visited September 2023
Travelled as a couple
Written 24 September 2023
Njambi N
Nairobi, Kenya23 contributions
Engaging visit
We had a great time hearing about the history of diamond mining in South Africa. Carmen was a wonderful guide and engaging storyteller. We also enjoyed trying on the nice diamond jewellery. Excellent customer service from Carmen. Will be back!
Visited September 2023
Travelled with friends
Written 25 September 2023
TravelFan386
New York City, New York15 contributions
An interesting learning experience
An enjoyable hour and learned some interesting facts from Constantina. She was knowledgeable, witty, and passionate about what she does. We can now add another C - clarity, colour, cut, carot……and Constantina! Thank you.
Visited October 2023
Travelled with friends
Written 15 October 2023
Coastal47609153822
1 contribution
Amazing
Nicola gave us thee best service ever. Best location tour I’ve ever had. Learnt alot. I’m enjoying my first day at Cape Town
Visited October 2023
Travelled as a couple
Written 26 October 2023
GoPlaces27326880705
1 contribution
Very highly reccomended
This was an amazing experience! Our guide Zukiswa Mbuyah was really friendly and cheerful, and gave us some amazing tips. I would reccomend this experience to anyone looking for something interesting to do. It was a great guide with great people!
Visited November 2023
Travelled with friends
Written 2 November 2023
Road10447168209
1 contribution
Highly recommended museum
Our tour guide, Zukiswa, was one of the most excellent person I have met. It was a pleasure to have her as our guide. It is a beautiful place and everything is treated with much care and respect. Will definitely buy my jewellery here in the future.
Visited November 2023
Travelled with friends
Written 2 November 2023
Ali H
13 contributions
Fascinating!
Fabulous afternoon spent at the Shimansky Diamond Museum in Capetown. Our guide Constantina Messaris was friendly, interesting and passionate about her subject. We were fascinated from beginning to end and will never look at diamonds in the same way again. Truly memorable experience.
Visited November 2023
Travelled with family
Written 6 November 2023
Alan J
South Yorkshire, United Kingdom241 contributions
A must do when in Cape Town!
Absolutely fascinating visit to the Cape Town Diamond Museum. My guide was Nadya who was superb - incredibly knowledgeable and friendly and answered all my questions. Can’t recommend this tour enough - you’ll learn plenty and get to see some very pricey diamonds in the showroom at the end. Whole heartedly recommend this visit and a big thank you to Nadya for making it so enjoyable!
Visited November 2023
Travelled solo
Written 7 November 2023
Excursion821038
1 contribution
An Unexpected Must Do in Cape Town
What an amazing experience! It all started with a guided, very informative, tour by our own personal guide Imraan! He was fantastic! Very knowledgeable and personable. After the tour of the history of the diamond and how they custom make every piece in house, Imraan helped us pick out the most beautiful pair of my girl stud earrings! It was the least pressure buying experience we’ve had, where all he cared about was us and our experience! Would highly recommend adding this as a must do while in Cape Town and ask for Imraan. You won’t be disappointed!
Visited November 2023
Travelled as a couple
Written 15 November 2023
June S
3 contributions
Wonderful tour by the very knowledgeable Arnaldo!
Had an amazing time learning about the history of South African diamonds and hearing stories about some of the most famous stones. A real glimpse into the fascinating process of diamond making before getting to look at some beautiful specimens. Well worth the visit!
Visited November 2023
Travelled as a couple
Written 28 November 2023

These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

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4.5

915 reviews

Excellent

674

Very good

143

Average

65

Poor

22

Terrible

11

Storyteller754583

7 contributions

Couldn't go in

Feb 2020

Despite this museum saying it is open 9am to 9pm, my husband and I went mid morning and were told the earliest availability to visit was 6pm! We were flying home that evening so couldn't go. There was no one else in sight and no notice to say there would be timed tours during the opening times for us to plan ahead and book. Our tour guide just said to go and visit.

Written 8 February 2020

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Elana K

We are terribly sorry that you were unable to attend your tour - unfortunately, we do tend to be extremely busy this time of year making bookings to visit essential. We apologise for any inconvenience caused. Should you find your way back to Cape Town, we would love to offer you both a complimentary tour. Warmest Regards, The Cape Town Diamond Museum Team

Written 17 February 2020

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Toré A.

5 contributions

Diamond treatment from the Diamond Museum

Feb 2022

Thanks to Marlene Naidoo, we've been part of an extremely informative and highly enjoyable museum tour experience which took us from 3.3 bn years ago all the way through to modern day. It's been one of the most exciting tours my Mom and I have ever been to. Thank you Cape Town Diamond Museum for such excellent customer service and courtesy!

Written 14 February 2022

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Vika

Dubai, United Arab Emirates21 contributions

A nice small museum / jewellery store

May 2022 • Family

Our kids WANTED to visit diamonds museum so we came here to explore.

We loved it. The museum display is nice, the story is light and interesting and one can learn a bit about diamonds, how they are polished and how they were discovered in South Africa and stunning for us adults story and pictures of old Kimberley mine! We are thankful to our guide Zukiswa, she was amazing.

We didn’t buy anything (honestly I felt discomfortable not buying!) though there was no pressure to buy and all staff were very nice to us! Our son however is now going to get very reach and buy a huge diamond when he gets older:)

Maybe you can allow larger groups and with that, would have more visitors and more purchases. It’s not easy to get to this museum as you need to book in advance and many visitors come and get sent out with no visit slots available... It would be great to start accommodating as hoc visitors to join the planned groups.
Cheers to all.

Written 13 May 2022

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Trish D

1 contribution

Great experience!

Nov 2022

Nadya has an incredible wealth of knowledge on the history of diamonds. She shared interesting anecdotes with genuine interest and enthusiasm which made the tour most enjoyable and well worth it. I would recommend visiting the Cape Town Diamond Museum as both young and old are catered for. A great experience all round!

Written 11 January 2023

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Mrs T Rennie

1 contribution

Thoroughly enjoyable.

Oct 2022

We thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Our guide Gabi Pembion was so knowledgeable, so patient with all our questions although we were unfortunately not in a position to buy anything. I would highly recommend a visit it was both interesting and informative in terms of the history of diamonds and diamonds in general. If I win the lotto this will be one of my first stops.

Written 10 October 2022

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

anchi100

Prague, Czech Republic434 contributions

Beautiful experience with iconic gems.

Jan 2023 • Solo

The museum works on a tour basis only. My first try - they had a large group already booked and I could not visit directly; today it was not busy, so I had a private guide - a wonderful Aloma- who guided me through the historical exhibition and the showroom.
It is a great experience to learn more about diamonds in SA, understand their grading system and then of course to see and try some beautiful pieces in the showroom. I also loved it that they have a collection of tanzanites which is a stone you cannot see in many places around the world.

Written 20 January 2023

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

ankeb1959

Edinburgh, UK7 contributions

Diamonds are a girl's best friend

Feb 2022

While staying in the area, we decided to visit the Cape Town Diamond Museum. Although the entry fee was R100, this was waived for both of us. Wesley, member of staff, patiently explained the history of the diamond mining in South Africa from the earliest days to the present. This was followed by a short video, a tour of the work shops and it finished in the Shimansky showroom. Their jewellery and gemstones are all made on the premises and the styles are innovative and exciting. They specialise in diamond and Tanzanite jewellery. We couldn't resist buying a little diamond souvenir to remind us of our visit to Cape Town. If you love diamonds, this is an experience you can't afford to miss.

Written 8 February 2022

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

James Drury

3 contributions

Excellent service and professionalism, highly recommend.

May 2022 • Business

I recently went with my students to the diamond museum and I can say that this was an excellent experience through the diamond museum, the show room and the factory. In particular Marlene Naidoo was an incredible guide through the whole facility and really captured the students attention and was professional and kind. I will be returning in future as this was a wonderful learning experience.

Written 17 May 2022

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Vero Prima

4 contributions

Great tour with Leila

Apr 2023 • Solo

I would like to sincerely thank Leila for the wonderful guided tour of the Diamond Museum! Leila not only introduced the museum and its history in a very interesting and entertaining way, but also shared her extensive knowledge and enthusiasm for the subject. I was thrilled with the variety of information Leila imparted and I’m sure that without her help I would not have learned so much about the fascinating world of diamonds. I can only recommend anyone who wants to visit the Diamond Museum to take a tour with Leila.

Written 28 April 2023

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Gornjogradska M

1 contribution

Inspiring visit to Cape Town Diamond Museum

Jan 2024 • Solo

Recently, I had the pleasure of visiting the Shimansky Diamond Museum in Cape Town, and it was an experience I won't soon forget. The highlight of my visit was the exceptional guidance provided by Ms. Constantina Messaris. Her knowledge and passion for diamonds and their history were both enlightening and infectious, making the museum tour not just informative but also truly captivating. The museum itself presented a stunning array of diamonds and expert craftsmanship, all displayed in a way that was both elegant and accessible. I highly recommend this museum to anyone visiting Cape Town, and a special shoutout to Ms. Messaris for making my experience there unforgettable. A must-visit for anyone interested in the art and science of diamonds.

Written 17 January 2024

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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