Modern Mining June 2024

The Flower of Dettah pendant.

Above: Bheki Ngema of Ben & Co. was South Africa’s Shining Lights Awards winner in 2009 and later became a judge. Left: De Beers Group is calling on aspiring young jewellery designers from their producer countries to enter the 2024 Shining Light Awards.

deliberations among the judges to select the top three for each country, and only at this stage are the names of the winning designers revealed.” Entrepreneurship While the Shining Light Awards focus on the artis tic skill of the designer and support the honing of that creative talent, there is also the aspect of small enterprise development to consider. “De Beers sees the empowerment of young designers – by giving them a voice through their designs – as a vital aspect of our role as good cor porate citizens,” says Fredericks. “It has also been important to support not only their design skills, but their capabilities as entrepreneurs and marketers of their own creations.” The awards have therefore also been able to support small jewellery manufacturers and distribu tors, helping to open doors into the sector and to introduce vibrant new entrants with creative energy. This, he highlights, has been achieved through close collaboration with important industry stakehold ers like the South African Diamond and Precious Metals Regulator and the South African Diamond Manufacturers’ Association. Over the years, the winning participants in the Shining Light Awards have gone on to excel in

A model wearing The Journey jewellery collection by De Beers Shining Light Awards 2015 winner, Lilja Hastie. explain the brief and specifications for the designs. Entrants are given three months to develop their designs, with the help of their teachers, lecturers and mentors. “It’s important that the designs are capable of being practically translated into items of jewellery, so we include these considerations in our require ments,” he explains. The judging process is painstaking and detailed, with a panel of judges selected from the jewellery industry and related professions. They are given the onerous task of assessing each submission in detail according to the criteria supplied; applicants are identified only by a number, so each person submit ting their design remains anonymous. “From this assessment, a score is generated for every submission, and the top five are chosen for each country,” he says. “There are then further

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