Press releases - 2025

Valterra Platinum, in proud partnership with Metal Concentrators and Platinum Guild International (PGI) are excited to announce the winners of the 2025 PlatAfrica Jewellery Design and Manufacturing Competition. Hosted annually by Valterra Platinum, PlatAfrica is South Africa’s premier jewellery competition, intended to champion innovation in platinum jewellery design and manufacturing.

It celebrates South Africa’s position as the largest producer of platinum in the world and as a centre of excellence for platinum jewellery-making, while highlighting the importance thereof, and its contribution to beneficiation. The competition not only recognises local jewellery manufacturing and design flair but also aims to build a pipeline of talent into the South African platinum jewellery design and manufacturing industry by providing skills development, recognition, and commercial opportunities.

This year’s PlatAfrica competition was held under the theme – New Horizons – alluding to emerging forms, fashions, and meanings in the future of jewellery. Now in its 26th year, the PlatAfrica competition has been a platform for professional and emerging designers to showcase the beauty and versatility of platinum in jewellery craftsmanship. As the proud sponsor of the competition, Valterra Platinum remains deeply committed to fostering innovation and excellence in the platinum jewellery industry.

At the PlatAfrica Gala event held on Friday 24 October in Johannesburg, Craig Miller, CEO of Valterra Platinum explained that every year, PlatAfrica entrants receive 15 kilograms of platinum. The platinum which is unearthed by Valterra Platinum, for example, would require blasting, crushing, and processing of about 30,000 tonnes of rock from its Mogalakwena mine. This is the effort of nearly 30,000 employees and contractors working together.

He said, “It is a powerful reminder that through responsible mining, even small amounts generate immense value – uplifting communities, driving progress, and creating lasting impact. PlatAfrica addresses critical industry needs and as Valterra Platinum, we remain open to collaboration and partnership to ensure local PGM beneficiation grows and thrives by improving global market access.”

Last year’s announcement of Inoveo Platinum – an innovative alloy that has all the benefits of platinum but is easier to work with, was used to manufacture a capsule piece which was showcased at the prestigious COUTURE event in Las Vegas. COUTURE is the world's most exceptional curation of designer fine jewellery, catering to an elite community of renowned heritage brands, emerging design talent, and the finest retailers from around the world. This platform enabled the demonstration of Inoveo Platinum - a breakthrough innovation for jewellery design and manufacturing.

This year, PlatAfrica brought more innovations to the forefront, by featuring fashion design alongside jewellery – with garments from student fashion designers from Stadio Fashion School and from the professional designers. In addition, a PlatAfrica app – which is being developed by IIEMSA university students – is making discovering and buying premium platinum jewellery easier, in turn helping the designers scale production. Finally, PlatAfrica has partnered with Tracr, the world's leading digital platform for tracing natural diamonds, ensuring that each PlatAfrica piece now comes with verified provenance and authenticity.

“PlatAfrica is more than a competition - it is a movement, and while winning PlatAfrica pieces have already made their debut at COUTURE, looking forward, we have more international showcasing events over the next 12 months, including a return to COUTURE and Hong Kong. We are collaborating with the South African diamonds and precious metals regulator to support local SMMEs who will showcase their design talent on these world stages. Furthermore, designers benefit directly from each sale, with Valterra Platinum making no profit. This year, Valterra Platinum will match the proceeds and donate these to the Nelson Mandela Foundation. Our aim is purely to showcase and promote incredible local talent internationally”, concluded Miller.

The 2025 PlatAfrica winners will showcase their designs at the Hong Kong Jewellery Fair in September 2026 in conjunction with the South African Diamond and Precious Metals Regulator.

This year’s winners in the Professional category are:

1. Emile Pitout, Lorin Bohm and Rob Burton, from Platandia Jewellery Collection
2. Nihal Shah, from Vijay Shah Concepts
3. Esther Boshoff & Team, from Beaudell Designs
4. Ann ten Cate, from Mark Solomon Jewellers

The winners in the Student/Apprentice category are:

1. Seinoli Valentine Maketela, from Pneuma Jewellers
2. Nolwazi Linda, from Cape Peninsula University of Technology
3. Siyabonga Retshe, from Cape Peninsula University of Technology
4. Peter-Ivan Mitrovich, from Stellenbosch University

The winner of the People’s Choice award is:

1. Lwandile Sibiya, from Durban University of Technology