Drum – 15 August 2019

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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


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