Celebrating its 21st year as South Africa’s premier platinum jewellery and manufacturing competition, PlatAfrica has announced 20 finalists in the two categories for this year’s competition, which for the first time focused exclusively on men’s jewellery.
Hosted annually by Anglo American Platinum in partnership with Metal Concentrators and Platinum Guild International (PGI) India, PlatAfrica aims to promote innovation and technical expertise in platinum jewellery design and manufacturing in South Africa.
This year’s theme – Designed for Men of Platinum – was developed in consultation with PGI India and was inspired by consumer research that identifies men’s jewellery as a growing demand segment for platinum jewellery, but with a limited product offering.
As PlatAfrica aims to promote platinum jewellery to a broader audience, the competition is partnering with African Fashion International (AFI) to showcase finalists’ pieces as part of Joburg Fashion Week 2020. The winners will be announced during a virtual showcase event on 13 November, with models dressed by leading South African menswear brand, Carducci.
Natascha Viljoen, CEO of Anglo American Platinum, said: “Platinum has been a highly sought after jewellery metal for consumers for decades and we are proud of the many firsts that are being incorporated in this year’s 21st edition of PlatAfrica. For the first time, the competition focuses on men’s jewellery, which is an underserviced market segment. In addition, we are very excited to partner with AFI who have an excellent track record in showcasing the best of African design. We are also thrilled to be a part of this year’s Joburg Fashion Week and have been very impressed by the quality and creativity of the pieces that have been entered. We hope this year’s competition will serve as a catalyst to encourage more men to buy and wear platinum jewellery.”
Dr Precious Moloi-Motsepe, founder of AFI said: “PlatAfrica has built a reputation for inspiring creativity and quality in platinum jewellery design in South Africa. What excites me about our partnership with PlatAfrica is the opportunity to develop and grow nascent talent into international excellence, thus contributing to our creative capital as well job creation and economic growth.”
In another first, all the one-of-a-kind jewellery pieces entered for PlatAfrica will be available for sale online. The store will be hosted on the AFI Designer Boutique (https://www.afiboutique.com/) for a limited period and will go live after the show on 13 November.
This year’s finalists are:
Professional category:
Stacy Beukes (Ruth Prowse School of Art); Rob Burton, Emile Pitout & Abdullah Zayd (Platandia); Labi Kapo (Akapo Jewels); Fang-Yu Liao & Aurelien Brandt (MICHL Jewellery & Brandt Adornment); Jane Merrifield (Tuesday’s Child Jewellery Design); Mandlenkosi None & Nnete Mokgothu (Mo Nkosi and Nnete Jewellery Manufacturers); Nihal Shah (Vijay Shah Concepts); Shikant Shah (Shah Jewellers); Christina Toros (Prins & Prins); and Lungile Xhwantini (The Platinum Incubator).
The judges gave a special mention to Rajesh Shah of J Hind Jewellers in this category for producing an outstanding jewellery collection for his entry this year.
Student/ apprentice category:
Ross Kellerman (Cape Peninsula University of Technology); Thembi Maduna (Vijay Shah Concepts); Kgabo Justice Makibelo (The Platinum Incubator); Liam McRobert (Ruth Prowse School of Art); Malefa Phoofolo (Tinsel); Alexander Rawháni (Shohreh Custom Made); Ntsikelelo Shange (Akapo Jewels); Busisiwe Sinini (The Platinum Incubator); Thembelihle Sishi (Durban University of Technology); and Rejoice Lerato Setshedi (The Platinum Incubator).
For images of the finalists’ pieces, please access the Dropbox folder by clicking here.