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 acollaboration with De Beers Group which will loan selected diamonds to our 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 bringing 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.
The competition features three prize categories: professionals, apprentices and students, and the People’s Choice award, where the public will have the opportunity to vote for their favourite jewellery piece. In addition to prize money, winners stand the chance to be considered for participation in PGI India’s design sourcing workshop in 2023.
Metal requests for entry must be received before 2 June 2023 and participants must submit their final design pieces by 28 July 2023. Winners will be announced later on in the year. For more information on this year’s competition, please click here.
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Notes to editors:
Anglo American Platinum Limited is a member of the Anglo American plc Group and is a leading primary producer of platinum group metals. The company is listed on the Johannesburg Securities Exchange (JSE). Its mining, smelting and refining operations are based in South Africa. Elsewhere in the world, the Group owns Unki Platinum Mine in Zimbabwe. Anglo American Platinum is committed to the highest standards of safety and continues to make a meaningful and sustainable difference in the development of the communities around its operations.
Anglo American is a leading global mining company, and our products are the essential ingredients in almost every aspect of modern life. Our portfolio of world-class competitive operations, with a broad range of future development options, provides many of the future-enabling metals and minerals for a cleaner, greener, more sustainable world and that meet the fast growing every day demands of billions of consumers. With our people at the heart of our business, we use innovative practices and the latest technologies to discover new resources and to mine, process, move and market our products to our customers – safely and sustainably.
As a responsible producer of diamonds (through De Beers Group), copper, platinum group metals, premium quality iron ore and steelmaking coal, and nickel – with crop nutrients in development –we are committed to being carbon neutral across our operations by 2040. More broadly, our Sustainable Mining Plan commits us to a series of stretching goals to ensure we work towards a healthy environment, creating thriving communities and building trust as a corporate leader. We work together with our business partners and diverse stakeholders to unlock enduring value from precious natural resources for the benefit of the communities and countries in which we operate, for society as a whole, and for our shareholders. Anglo American is re-imagining mining to improve people’s lives.
