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MissSA’snewtiarahasbeenunveiled

• andit is dazzling! BY SHANAAZ PRINCE

I

Tweighsmorethanhalfa kilogram

andisstuddedwith2 586sparkling

zirconia stones. Createdthrough

cutting-edgetechnology,thecrown

tookabout 192 hourstomanufacture.

Butbestofallis theNdebelepattern

atitscore–a dazzlingnodtothe

themeofthisyear’sMissSouthAfrica

pageant:celebratingthebeautyand

diversityofAfricanwomen.

Thebrand-newMissSouthAfrica

crownhasbeennamedUbuhleBethun-

goLenkosazana,whichmeans“beauty

oftherainbow”inisiZuluandwillbe

wornbythisyear’swinner.

BuhlewascreatedbyAmericanSwiss

incollaborationwithworld-renowned

jewellerydesignerJohanLouwofUwe

Koetterjewellers.

“TheNdebelepatternonthecrown

waschosenbecauseit’salmostuni-

versallyrecognis

SouthAfrican,”say

Peffer, head

of marketing at

American

Swiss.

“This crown first

and foremost cel-

ebrates the im-

portance of wom-

en in society as

well as their con-

tribution to the

nation. The nam

waschosentocel

bratetheculturaldiversityinthepageant

and the country.

“The colours arebeautifulandvibrant

in their own right, justlikeallthewomen

who are participating inthisyear’s

contest.”

T

HE visionandideabehindthe

crownweredecidedina mat-

terofhours,buttheactual

design andmanufacturing

took plentyoftime.

The processbeganbyusing

computer-aided design(CAD)tovisual-

ise the crown andthentoproducea

template.

“It included designingthecrownona

computer programandcreatinganon-

scale production-readyitemthatcanbe

3D-printed, mouldedandmanufactured.

The CADdesigningofjewelleryiscom-

detailcarefully

fromtheorigi-

ignandcreated

lly,”Johan says.

oving upward

m the colourful

oundation pro-

ided by the

Ndebele pat-

tern are pavé

cubic zirconia

topped by larger

rong-mounted

ubic zirconia

ads.Theseare

reminiscent of shooting stars, Zimbini

explains – because a shooting star is

what Miss South Africa will be.

Since the crown needed so many

stones, sorting of the zirconia took about

36 hours to complete and the setting

process took another 64 hours.

It was quite a job, Johan says, but it

was 100% worth it.

“Being chosen as the winner of the

South African pageant isn’t only an

honour but a responsibility as Miss SA

will be an ambassador for our country.

“Ithereforewantedtocreatesome-

thingthat’sinstantlyrecognisableas

SouthAfrican.”

The crown, which weighs 517g, will be

placed on the head of the winner on the

big night by outgoing Miss SA Tamaryn

Green, and then only make an appear-

ance at special events.

In between, Buhle will be locked away

for safekeeping.

The previous Miss SA crown, Enhle,

was first worn by Ntandoyenkosi

Kunene-Mthethwa, Miss South Africa

2016, and used for the following two

years.

This year, with the change in the direc-

tion of the pageant being inclusive of a

diverse range of contestants, it was only

apt to change the crown too.

“We’re delighted with Buhle,” Miss SA

organiser Stephanie Weil says.“Like her

name and the first woman who’llwear

her,she’sa realshowstopper.”

CROWNING

GLORY

Oneofthetop 16 MissSAfinalists

(BELOW)willwearthenewUbuhle

Bethungo Lenkosazana crown when

she becomes Miss SA 2019.

MissSA 2018 TamarynGreen

wearingtheEnhlecrown,

whichwasdebutedin2016.

NEWS

67 | http://www.drum.co.za 15 AUGUST 2019 |^67