History

In the early 1880’s a Lithuanian emigrant called Lazerus Pinn, arrived on the shores of Cape Town. A watchmaker by trade, he set up shop, repairing watches and barometers from his hotel room in Long Street.
In 1893, after a couple of disasters, he opened L. Pinn & Co. at 45 Adderley Street, Cape Town.

The company flourished and traded from these premises for 117 years.

Lazer then passed the family business on to his son, Barney, who in turn passed it on to his son, Ronald. Ronald then handed the company down to his two elder sons, David and Jeremy.

In 1984 the rival family jewellery business, Murdocks, was purchased from the Murdock family who had been in the business through three generations, since 1897.

In 1990, the holding company, Centenary Jewellers, was created and the partners, Jeremy Pinn and Tony De Klerk, steered the group through the difficult political transition of the early 1990’s. After the 1994 election Cape Town started to experience something of a tourist boom and, being well placed to take advantage of this captive market, the company once again began to prosper.

In 2006, Jeremy and Tony once again joined forces and started Destinee Diamonds & Jewellery.
After yet another successful, customer-focused store, they felt it was time to branch out and started looking at the online world and Cape Diamond & Jewellery Exchange was born.

The combination of Jeremy Pinn, who studied gemology in the USA and is one of the few qualified graduate gemologists from the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), and Tony De Klerk, with his knowledge & business skills, together with a dedicated team of experienced sales staff, ensure that 117 years of commitment to service and quality has not faltered.

In March 2010, Cape Diamond & Jewellery Exchange opened its doors.

Headed up by Matthew Duminy (who had been working in the online sales world for some time), and with the design work of Maria Shinners, the company quickly developed into what it is today - a thriving, professional service dedicated to providing customers with only the best quality.
 

About Us

Cape Diamond & Jewellery Exchange are the leaders in online jewellery retail.

Our specialty is taking a custom design and making it work within your budget.

We also have a large selection of engagement, wedding & dress rings, as well as earrings and pendants that you can order direct from our site using our fully secure credit card facilities.

If you have a picture of a design that you like, or maybe just an idea for a design floating around in your head, please contact one of our friendly sales staff and we will help walk you through this exciting time in your life.

We have our own in-house designers, as well as our excellent in-house goldsmiths and diamond setters. By having the entire manufacturing process located right on our premises, we can ensure that only the highest quality items leave our premises.

Professional, personal & passionate – this is our commitment to you.