PlatAfrica Collaborates With DeBeers To Bring 2023 ‘Emergence’ Theme To Life
PlatAfrica Collaborates With DeBeers To Bring 2023 ‘Emergence’ Theme To Life. South Africa’s premier annual platinum jewellery design and manufacturing competition, PlatAfrica, has opened for entries from professional and student designers. The theme for this year’s edition of PlatAfrica is #Emergence, calling for designs drawing from uncharted territories to create pieces that inspire and resonate with customers, while also pointing to the promise of better things to come.
Now in its 24th year, and hosted annually by Anglo American Platinum, Metal Concentrators and Platinum Guild International (PGI) India, PlatAfrica aims to increase local beneficiation and position platinum as the jewellery metal of choice for discerning consumers. This year’s iteration of the competition sees the introduction of capsule collections – a condensed version of the designer’s vision that can transcend trends and seasons by being more functional and commercial, as well as a collaboration with De Beers Group which will loan selected diamonds to its winners for showcasing in their platinum collections. Thirty times rarer than gold and the strongest and purest jewellery metal on the planet with a natural white colour that doesn’t fade away, platinum is a perfect partner for gemstones, particularly diamonds. The collaboration between De Beers Group and Anglo American Platinum will help to further expose premium South African jewellery collections to the global market.
This year’s competition will see potential entrants being challenged to think commercially, through the use of their bespoke competition pieces to conceptualise a capsule collection (ring, earring, neckpiece and armpiece) that can be manufactured and sold to a broader global market. The top ten winners in both the professional and student categories will have the opportunity to then manufacture their capsule collections for inclusion in the PlatAfrica collection which will then be available for sale in the international market.
“PlatAfrica is very close to my heart as it provides an important and much needed opportunity for designers to create statement jewellery pieces with platinum, thereby developing their design and manufacturing skills. I am also very excited that we are able to collaborate with De Beers so that our designers can have access to the brilliance of diamonds and be further encouraged to think globally about consumer demand trends ,” said Natascha Viljoen, CEO of Anglo American Platinum.”
Moses Madondo, Managing Director at De Beers Group Managed Operations said, “De Beers Group is very passionate about creating beneficiation pipelines in the regions where we operate. We believe in supporting local talent in the countries where we discover diamonds, and we hope that brining De Beers diamonds to PlatAfrica will help inspire South Africa’s outstanding jewellery designers and jewellery manufacturers to maximise their creative artistry.”
“Platinum’s rarity, natural white colour and durability make it known as a perfect match with diamonds and gemstones. This collaboration with Anglo American Platinum and De Beers Group is a great platform for platinum to shine within the international jewellery industry, both via the competition pieces and for consumers through exciting new collections,” said Huw Daniel, CEO of Platinum Guild International.
