Identity in jewelry design in a post-apartheid South Africa

In 1998 Thabo Mbeki made a call for an African Renaissance. The new government responded to this call by introducing beneficiation initiatives that would add value to South Africa's gold and diamonds through the design and manufacture of jewelry. A recommendation by government is to encourage designers to incorporate a "Rainbow Nation" identity as a central theme in the design process. This study analyses the new initiatives and policies that are intended to bring a new perspective to a South African identity in jewelry design. Starting with a brief historical analysis on beadwork and the discovery of gold jewelry from pre-colonial times, I then trace three cultural moments that lead to an understanding of how jewelry design is understood in a stratified industry in post-apartheid South Africa. What follows is an analysis of how the call for both the African Renaissance as well as the incorporation of the "Rainbow Nation" identity in jewelry design was taken up by education at the University of Johannesburg and AngloGold Ashanti's jewelry competitions and their marketing of jewelry. The study reveals the problematic around the concept of a unified South African identity, the influence of tourism in identity constructs, as well as AngloGold Ashanti's continuing reference of colonial narratives in their marketing imagery. I argue that tourist constructs on identity and the colonial narratives promoted by AngloGold Ashanti ultimately work to reinforce an exotic identity in jewelry design. This study provides a platform on which other interested parties, academics and policy makers can pursue the ongoing process of defining a South African identity in jewelry design in South Africa.