What is your honest budget for the full ring?

Tightest under R10,000 through to R150,000+. Most SA buyers cluster at R30,000 to R75,000.

What is the ring for?

Engagement, anniversary, milestone gift, investment, or self-purchase. Each routes differently.

Where in South Africa are you based?

Johannesburg / Pretoria, Cape Town, Durban, smaller city, or international. JHB-based maps cleanly onto Bedfordview wholesale; remote maps onto virtual-studio.

How well do you already know diamond specifications (carat, colour, clarity, cut, certification)?

Beginner / some research done / specific GIA spec already in mind. Total beginners are routed to education-first to avoid commission-led upsell.

How soon do you need the ring?

Days, 2-3 weeks, 4-6 weeks, 2-3 months, no rush. Bespoke wholesale routes need 3 weeks minimum; chain mall routes can deliver same-day off the shelf.

How does the diamond route quiz work?

Five questions about your budget bracket, what the ring is for, where you are based, how much you already know about diamond specifications, and how soon you need the ring. The quiz scores your answers against six SA buying routes (Bedfordview wholesale appointment, virtual studio for non-JHB buyers, education-first guide, lab-grown channel, Cape Town bespoke, quick mall route with cautions) and recommends the one that fits your inputs. The recommendation runs entirely in your browser; nothing is sent to any server.

Will the quiz always recommend the same wholesale workshop?

No. The Bedfordview wholesale appointment route only fits buyers with R30,000+ budgets, some pre-existing spec knowledge, JHB-adjacent location or willingness to travel / use a virtual studio, and at least 3 weeks of lead time. Buyers outside that profile are routed to better-fitting paths: lab-grown for tight budgets, education-first guides for total newcomers, Cape Town bespoke for CPT-based buyers, and a quick mall route (with explicit markup cautions) for genuinely urgent buyers.

Is the route recommendation a paid placement?

No. This column accepts no affiliate commission, no paid placement, no advertorial fee from any SA jeweller. Recommendations route to the channel that fits the inputs; where Bedfordview wholesale is the fit, the route points to the category of Bedfordview workshops running the wholesale-to-public model, not to any single named seller. See /about/ for the column convention disclosure.

Yes. The quiz is stateless: refresh the page to reset, or click “start over” on the result screen. Your answers are not stored anywhere.

What if my answers do not fit any route well?

Then the quiz returns the closest-fit route along with a note that your inputs are unusual (very tight budget paired with high spec demands; extreme urgency on a high-spec request; etc.). Edge-case buyers should email the column at editor@diamondedit.co.za and we will route by hand.

Does the recommendation change if I give the same answers next month?

The route logic is versioned; substantive changes to the matrix update the version number visible on the page (currently v1.0, May 2026). Pricing brackets that the routes describe (R30,000 wholesale threshold, R10,000 lab-grown floor, etc.) are tied to the May 2026 SA Diamond Price Report and will be refreshed monthly with the report.

Find my diamond route, South Africa (interactive quiz)

Five questions. Six possible routes. A specific recommendation for where to actually buy the ring, based on your budget, your location, your urgency, and what you already know. No signup, no data leaves your browser.

The six routes (in full, for the JavaScript-disabled reader)

Route 1: Bedfordview wholesale-to-public appointment

Fits: R30,000+ budget, engagement / anniversary / investment purpose, JHB-adjacent or willing to travel, some-to-specific spec familiarity, 3+ weeks lead time. Why this route: the lowest landed price on certified loose stones, full design control on the mounting, GIA-certified centre stones routinely held in stock, and the dealer holds the same licence class as the trading-hall members. How it works: several cutting houses along the Bedfordview ridge run the wholesale-to-public model, by appointment only.

Route 2: Virtual studio appointment (non-JHB buyers, same wholesale floor)

Fits: R30,000+ budget, Cape Town / Durban / smaller city / international, willing to engage remotely. Why this route: the same wholesale-floor economics as Route 1 without the JHB travel; video-call viewing of certified loose stones, courier delivery via insured channel, and remote sign-off on CAD-rendered mountings. Lead time same as in-person (3 to 6 weeks).

Route 3: Education-first (total beginners, before any commitment)

Fits: Beginner spec familiarity, any budget, any timeline that allows 1 to 2 weeks of reading. Why this route: the commission structure at mall-chain retail rewards upsell on shape, side stones, and aftermarket service contracts, so total newcomers without the 4Cs vocabulary tend to leave with a higher ticket than the budget intended. Two weeks reading first changes the conversation entirely. Working entry points: our engagement ring bracket guide, our price guide, and our price report.

Route 4: Lab-grown channel (tight-budget, modern aesthetic)

Fits: Under R30,000 budget, modern aesthetic preference, no investment-resale priority, any location, any timeline. Why this route: the SA wholesale lab-grown / natural ratio is roughly 1:8 to 1:12 on common engagement-ring spec in May 2026, so the lab-grown route lets a R10,000 to R25,000 ticket buy 1.00ct to 2.00ct visible carat that the natural channel cannot reach. Working entry point: the lab-grown vs natural explainer covers the honest trade-offs (residual value, market signal, where the price decline is heading).

Route 5: Cape Town bespoke independent

Fits: Cape Town based, R40,000+ budget, willing to engage with a CPT independent jeweller rather than the JHB wholesale channel. Why this route: CPT has a working independent-jeweller corridor in Sea Point, Hyde Park, V&A Waterfront, and Constantia, with several jewellers running their own bespoke practice for engagement and anniversary work. Markup sits above the JHB wholesale floor but below the chain-mall ticket, and the lead time matches Bedfordview (3 to 6 weeks). Working entry point: our Cape Town and V&A Waterfront jewellers guide.

Route 6: Quick mall route (with explicit cautions)

Fits: Within-days urgency, any budget. Why this route: nothing else delivers in days. Mall chains carry stock you can leave the shop with the same afternoon. Cautions: the retail markup at mall chains on certified loose stones routinely sits at 150 to 300 percent over the wholesale floor in SA. If the ring genuinely has to happen this week, you are paying a meaningful urgency premium; budget accordingly. If the “urgency” is self-imposed (you decided to propose this weekend but the date is moveable), Routes 1 to 5 will all deliver a materially better ring at the same money with a 3-week pause.

Common questions

How does the diamond route quiz work?: Five questions about your budget bracket, what the ring is for, where you are based, how much you already know about diamond specifications, and how soon you need the ring. The quiz scores your answers against six SA buying routes (Bedfordview wholesale appointment, virtual studio for non-JHB buyers, education-first guide, lab-grown channel, Cape Town bespoke, quick mall route with cautions) and recommends the one that fits your inputs. The recommendation runs entirely in your browser; nothing is sent to any server.
Will the quiz always recommend the same wholesale workshop?: No. The Bedfordview wholesale appointment route only fits buyers with R30,000+ budgets, some pre-existing spec knowledge, JHB-adjacent location or willingness to travel / use a virtual studio, and at least 3 weeks of lead time. Buyers outside that profile are routed to better-fitting paths: lab-grown for tight budgets, education-first guides for total newcomers, Cape Town bespoke for CPT-based buyers, and a quick mall route (with explicit markup cautions) for genuinely urgent buyers.
Is the route recommendation a paid placement?: No. This column accepts no affiliate commission, no paid placement, no advertorial fee from any SA jeweller. Recommendations route to the channel that fits the inputs; where Bedfordview wholesale is the fit, the route points to the category of Bedfordview workshops running the wholesale-to-public model, not to any single named seller. See /about/ for the column convention disclosure.
Can I redo the quiz?: Yes. The quiz is stateless: refresh the page to reset, or click “start over” on the result screen. Your answers are not stored anywhere.
What if my answers do not fit any route well?: Then the quiz returns the closest-fit route along with a note that your inputs are unusual (very tight budget paired with high spec demands; extreme urgency on a high-spec request; etc.). Edge-case buyers should email the column at editor@diamondedit.co.za and we will route by hand.
Does the recommendation change if I give the same answers next month?: The route logic is versioned; substantive changes to the matrix update the version number visible on the page (currently v1.0, May 2026). Pricing brackets that the routes describe (R30,000 wholesale threshold, R10,000 lab-grown floor, etc.) are tied to the May 2026 SA Diamond Price Report and will be refreshed monthly with the report.

Find my diamond route, South Africa

Quiz