Diamond miner De Beers has invited entries from Canadian, Botswanan, Namibian and South African young diamond jewellery designers for its 2024 Shining Light Awards programme.

The Shining Light Awards programme aims to recognise talented youth and boost their careers in the jewellery business, as well as add further local value through downstream beneficiation in the countries in which De Beers operates.

Each country will have a first, second and third prize according to the “redefine luxury” theme this year.

De Beers encourages students from schools, universities and other training institutions who support young jewellery designers to enter.

The entrants have three months to generate and submit designs according to De Beers’ requirements, with the help of their teachers, lecturers and mentors.

The judging panel is selected from experts in the jewellery industry and related fields and scores each design on pre-defined criteria.

In the first round of assessments, the top five scorers are determined for each country, thereafter the judges select the best three of the top five scorers.

“The purpose of the awards is to build the levels of expertise of our winners, as well as support their future directions within the jewellery sector. In past years, the prizes have included scholarships to leading institutions abroad, as well as internships that help young designers boost their progress in their chosen directions,” says De Beers beneficiation manager Kagiso Fredericks.

De Beers has been able to help facilitate the creation and commercialisation of jewellery based on some of the winning designs in previous years, supported by collaboration with sightholders.

Fredericks explains that the Shining Light Awards have been supporting small jewellery manufacturers and distributors, having opened doors into the sector and introduce new entrants with creative energy.

To this end, De Beers works with industry stakeholders such as the South African Diamond and Precious Metals Regulator and the South African Diamond Manufacturers Association.

Moreover, the awards programme also encourages educational institutions which may not already have modern design resources, such as computer aided design software and courses, to acquire these facilities.

The Shining Light Awards were first launched in 1996 in South Africa to support the South African jewellery industry and help develop design skills of local designers. It is now hosted across four countries every two years.

Entrants should be between the ages of 18 and 35 and currently be enrolled in a jewellery design and manufacturing programme, graduated from a related programme or simply be freelance designers.