Love Adorns Trinkets of Winning Designers at PlatAfrica 2018

Mumbai, March 13: Beautiful designs and innovative concepts took the centre stage at PlatAfrica 2018 , a jewellery design and manufacturing competition presented by Anglo American Platinum in association with The Platinum Guild International (PGI) India and Metal Concentrators. The competition which is open to students, apprentice and professional jewellers in South Africa, worked on the theme-‘Blessings of Love’, keeping in mind the rich heritage and the diverse population of our country.

These three design hooks were shortlisted to allow the designers to explore the rich properties of platinum for them to create beautiful pieces expressing meaningful stories:

Nature spirit: Humble, nature loving, eccentric and pleasant

Modern Feminine: Bold, dynamic, fresh and modern materials

Cultural confluence:Drive inspiration across the glove, meaningful and personalized avatar

Vaishali Banerjee, MD of Platinum Guild International said, “There is a beautiful story and inspiration behind every piece. PGI has been giving a platform for skill development of South African jewellery designers. Designers emote a lot with their jewellery and it has been a delight to see them interpret their thoughts so strongly with this year’s theme ‘Blessings of Love’.”

Mark Freed, Head of Market Development, Precious Metals, at Anglo American Platinum Limited added, “PlatAfrica is more than just a competition. It is a platform that hones designing skills and offers South African jewellery designers and manufacturers a unique opportunity to learn to design for the global jewellery market. We are in our 19th year, and this competition over the years has been able to encourage and empower the local designers to broaden their vision and develop their talent to meet international market demands. We greatly value PGI India’s support in furthering this development by giving these contestants exposure to the Indian jewellery industry”.

“The winning designs at PlatAfrica 2018 had a modern and contemporary touch, with a strong influence of the Indian culture. Each designer worked on the finest attributes of the platinum to turn it into a beautiful product.

Nicki Bottcher stood first in the professional category for her platinum necklace called Universal Love. In the second place was Jafta Mtole for creating a platinum armlet with the theme- From a Larvae to a Queen. At the place in the Student and the Apprentice category was Callen Miller for her beautiful ring cum pendant, which she named ‘Able to be’ and Lonwaba Diana came second for her platinum neck piece called ‘Bell of Love’.  Each of the creation had a story to tell.

Professional Category:

Nicki Bottcher: Platinum Necklace- Universal Love

Nicki got her inspiration for this piece from the nature and the immense love of  her family. It is a paisley pendants dangle on wire necklace. The five paisleys, which is typically a very Indian pattern, represent the love of the family which is present always. The piece symbolizes the blessings of god, universe and the love of family.

Jafta Mtole: Platinum Armlet- From a Larvae to a Queen

Jafta dedicated his piece to Malala Yousafzai and this design was inspired by the relation Malala and her father have. From breaking every society shackles to letting her dream and think loud, he feels that Malala would not have achieved all this, without her father’s constant support. This beautiful piece celebrates her journey from a larvae to the beautiful transformation of a butterfly. This creation therefore, celebrates all the independent and the successful young women, who have worked hard to achieve what they have got today.

Student and Apprentice Category:

Callen Miller: Ring cum pendant- Able to win

This piece is a convertible jewellery, which can be worn both as a ring as well as a pendant. It has been made keeping in mind the taste of the modern woman of today and her ‘on the go’ lifestyle. Callen got her inspiration of this piece from the Chrysler building in New York, which is a modern take on traditional luxurious lifestyle. This beautiful piece has been made keeping in mind that wedding jewelleries are very extravagant in India, as a result of which, they are worn only once. But this sleek piece of beauty can be a part of your wedding day journey as well as an everyday piece of jewellery.

Lonwaba Diana: Neck piece in platinum- Bell of love

This design shows the independent as well as the delicate side of  every woman. It has touch of modernity and is delicate as well as simple. There is a beautiful story as to why the sound of the stone keeps moving, it acts like a constant reminder that it is a gift from a mother and that she is always there to acknowledge her work.  Green has been chosen as the colour of the stone which symbolizes renewal, growth, harmony and freshness.