There’s a kind of clarity that only comes from having lived fully. From building things, raising people, making decisions, and — eventually — recognising what actually matters.
Angie and Joey Diamond have that clarity. And it’s what led them to Oasis Life Sunningdale.
A Life Built on Creating, Not Collecting
Joey Diamond is 82. His energy is unmistakable. He has spent a lifetime creating — toys, property, businesses — and the instinct remains unchanged.
“The idea that there’s a line in the sand for retirement doesn’t exist anymore,” he says. “Nothing stopped with me.”
Born and schooled in Sea Point, independence came young. He moved through the world on foot, on buzz bikes, and later on Harley Davidsons. Work arrived early and stayed. Over decades, Joey built Prima Toys into a leading toy manufacturer and distributor in South Africa, supplying retailers nationwide. What defined that period wasn’t scale for its own sake, but constant adaptation. Manufacturing models changed. Distribution shifted. Retail evolved as technology reshaped the industry.
“You have to change and keep evolving,” Joey says. “You stay with what you love, but you do things differently.”
He later founded Diamond Toys with a clear vision: to manufacture traditional toys built on timeless appeal. The company has since evolved and expanded under the leadership of two of his children, moving into collectables, kidult and pop culture toys — staying true to its traditional roots while continuing to grow.
“I was never interested in possession,” he says. “Creating and establishing new things was more meaningful — that was always the point.”
The Centre of Gravity
While Joey travelled extensively, Angie stayed — running the home and raising their children. “That is my greatest achievement,” she says. “Being a mother.”
When the children left home, life shifted again. Angie had lived enough to recognise what she wanted next — and she knew almost immediately when she found it.
She discovered a piece of land in Franschhoek. “I looked at it and I knew. This is where we’re going to create something new.”
What followed was Klein Genot — a Cape Dutch homestead where guests arrived through fruit orchards and were encouraged to pick and eat before entering through the back door, a deliberate nod to a Zen philosophy about welcoming people into a home. Inside, water moved quietly through a central koi pond. The atmosphere was calm and assured, designed to put people at ease.
Angie oversaw the guesthouse, restaurant and daily standards directly. Joey built the winery. Together they established vineyards, a barrel-maturation cellar, a restaurant, and a hotel with a spa that quickly gained international recognition and multiple awards.
The restaurant emerged from listening rather than trend-chasing. “The appeal of eating fiddly restaurant food wears off, especially during travel,” Angie says. “Klein Genot was about making people feel warm, welcome and at home. We delivered authentic South African food inspired by Afrikaans classics.”
It was immersive. “I worked 365 days a year. There was no time to come up for air.” When Angie decided to sell, it came from a sense of completion. “I’d done what I set out to do, so it felt right to hand it over.”
The Edit
Decades of building, creating, and running things at full intensity have a way of sharpening your perspective. By the time Angie and Joey began thinking about the next chapter, they knew exactly what they were looking for — and exactly what they weren’t.
“Keep what you love,” Angie says. “Lose what you don’t.”
To make space for this intentional new chapter, Angie rightsized decisively — keeping only what truly matters, like cherished notes from her children. The shift wasn’t about sacrifice. It was about efficiency.
Now Joey uses the estate’s boutique gym for his daily training. Angie fills her schedule with tennis, Tai Chi, and social lunches at the Clubhouse. For them, living with less has created the room to live more fully.
Why Sunningdale
Before Oasis Life Sunningdale, Angie and Joey lived at the Island Club in Century City — a Rabie-developed precinct. Oasis Life felt familiar in its thinking: integrated planning, attention to detail, and a clear understanding of how people actually live and how a community is built through lifestyle amenities within an excellent location.
Oasis Life Sunningdale sits on Cape Town’s West Coast, alongside a protected indigenous fynbos corridor. The estate feels open rather than enclosed, with indigenous landscaped pathways linking homes to shared spaces in a way that encourages movement and connection without forcing either. Beaches, medical facilities, shops, and essential services are close enough to be practical, but without the congestion of city living.
For Angie and Joey, the decision came immediately. “We came to the development site and said, ‘This is it,'” Angie recalls. Practicality confirmed it. “The hospital, the hairdresser, and everything else we need is a few minutes away.”
Whether they are travelling to visit children in Japan, Mauritius and Namibia, or enjoying the vibrant community at home, Oasis Life Sunningdale offers the perfect lock-up-and-go lifestyle.
Planning Ahead, Without Fear
That same clarity now informs how Angie thinks about the future — particularly where her children are concerned.
“This is the final stage of my life,” she says. “I don’t need our kids to have any problems.”
At Oasis Life, that reassurance is built into the structure. Through the Life Rights Agreement, the Oasis Life management team takes responsibility for maintenance, administration, and the eventual resale of the property — removing both practical responsibility and emotional load from residents and their families.
Angie and Joey are also direct about age, care, and dignity. “We didn’t sign up to be each other’s nurses,” Angie says. They wanted independence, professional care when needed, and the comfort of knowing they could remain together without burdening one another or their children.
For them, planning ahead isn’t fear-driven. It’s practical.
“I don’t fear anything but fear itself,” Joey says.
A Home That Works Quietly, Efficiently, and Without Fuss
At Oasis Life Sunningdale, the homes are designed to remove friction from daily life. Freestanding homes with modern finishes, private gardens, solar geysers and automated garages. Exterior maintenance, landscaping and shared spaces fully managed. A Clubhouse with chef-curated dining, a boutique gym, and a community that is active, warm, and genuinely social.
The Life Right model means no transfer duty, no VAT, and no bond required — keeping more capital available for the life you want to live rather than the property transaction required to get there.
Angie and Joey chose Oasis Life Sunningdale deliberately. A home that works quietly, efficiently, and without fuss — so that everything else can be exactly what it should be.
To find out more about retirement at Oasis Life Sunningdale, contact Trish Panaino at Seeff Blouberg on 021 557 7755 or email sunningdale@oasislife.co.za. You can also explore all our Western Cape retirement estates.
