The winners of the eighteenth PlatAfrica 2017 jewellery design and manufacturing competition were announced last month during a ceremony hosted by Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) at the Theatre on the Track conference centre, at Kyalami, in Midrand, north of Johannesburg

Amplats’ yearly competition was presented in association with platinum organisation Platinum Guild International (PGI) India and precious metals refiner Metal Concentrators.

Uwe Koetter Jewellers’ Ulandie Jonas won the professional category with her piece themed ‘The Family Bond’, with Vijay Shah Jewellery’s Nihal Shah, Nieman Jewellers’ Magda Nieman and Abram Mathabatha and BMC Fine Jewellery’s Brandon Cloete the runners-up.

In the student and apprentice category, Anke van der Linden, of the Durban University of Technology, won first place for her piece, ‘Undulation’. The runners-up were Fraser Schenck, of Tshwane University of Technology, Joanne van den Berg, of Cape Peninsula University of Technology, and Craig Welgemoed, of Cape Peninsula University. At the event, Amplats CEO Chris Griffith commented that the company was “ecstatic” about announcing the winners of this year’s competition, as it showcased the top talent in South Africa.

“PlatAfrica forms an integral part of our vision of developing and building the platinum jewellery industry, and driving platinum as the jewellery metal of choice.”

‘Bold Minimalism’ was the overarching theme of the competition. The theme looked to minimalism as a stance against excess.

The target market for the 2017 competition was Indian millennials, and the winners will be invited to India as part of Amplats and PGI India’s collaboration to participate in PGI India’s design outsourcing process for pieces for the growing Indian jewellery market.

The judging panel was composed of Kirti Jewellers’ Kirtikumar Devjee, PGI India’s Pallavi Sharma, Metal Concentrators’ Charlotte Crosse and Akapo Jewels’ Thomas Kapo. Amplats said the panel was drawn from the jewellery trade, academia and the design industry, who brought their extensive knowledge, enthusiasm and expertise to the process. “The jewellery pieces were scored on five criteria: theme, design, originality, wear- ability and workmanship.”

The judging process was managed independently of the management of the awards to ensure a balanced, fair and objective assessment, and the judging process was structured to achieve these aims. Amplats concluded that an internal auditor oversaw the adjudication process to ensure transparency.