Anglo Plat Prototype

Figure 1- Nkabinde, M., (2019). Silver Earrings.

This is a pair of silver earrings with cubic zircon set in a tube setting, prototype for the Anglo Platinum Competition. The theme was Your Love Has Gone Platinum and we had to design any piece of jewellery that relates with your b-tech topic. I decided to work with a motif called the CD for the patterns punched on the metal, I drew different designs to choose from then I chose the one that works out nicely. When I read the brief I knew exactly what I would use as my reference because early on this year I attended a traditional ceremony called Umembeso and I tend to interpret umembeso as the start of all the good things. Where big commitments are made and where your relationship starts to blossom.
I had used the folded element from the dress worn by the bride and I also abstract few elements from the head-wrap, how it forms those curves at the edges and the whole three-dimensional form the head-wrap create. I had to test how the folding was going to work with copper first before making the prototype, and I was very happy with the results, I had to make sure I used a thin plate so I can get nice curves. This pair of earrings represent all the struggles and all the good times you get in a relationship before the commitment. I wanted to make something that withholds the good and the bad in one but with a beautiful look on the outside.