Honouring The Golden Legacy of Jewellery and Its Grandeur

14 May 2025

Gold’s history is as old as civilisation — and older still. It is believed to have originated during a process known as supernova nucleosynthesis, occurring when a star implodes, scattering its atoms across the cosmos before forming part of the Earth’s crust. Over millennia, these particles settled in deposits across the globe, including beneath what would one day become Johannesburg, Egoli— our City of Gold, tracing its origins to 1886, when gold was discovered on the Witwatersrand. What followed was a gold rush that transformed the city’s future, a significant dent in the story of modernity. 

Across time and continents, gold has remained a universal standard — a material against which value itself is measured. Both local and global, gold is rooted in our cultural and economic histories and remains a store of wealth and a symbol of enduring value. Its appeal lies not only in permanence and rarity, but also in its unmatched beauty, which has made it a constant presence in adornment and ornamentation, from ancient ceremonial objects to contemporary jewellery. 

‘Africa Gold Edition’ honours gold’s lasting legacy through a careful selection of pieces, including necklaces, rings, bracelets and more. Highlights of the sale include an 18k yellow gold cuff weighing 31.7 grams (estimate R 40,000 – R50,000) — a true piece of grandeur with cross-hatching texture and polished borders. Another highlight is a classic bracelet on a curb chain, adorned with four engraved fob seals, a teardrop carnelian charm, a tube-set engraved amethyst charm, and a South African two Rand gold coin dated 1963 — total weight 47.60 grams, with an estimate of R 40,000 – R60,000. Also on offer is a diamond-encrusted necklace, set with 511 pavé diamonds on infinity links, weighing 56 grams, with an estimate of R100,000- R120,000 — this is a statement of grace and luxury. 

Gold, with its natural beauty that never tarnishes or fades, has inspired generations of artisans. Its discovery sparked human ambition to craft and embellish, giving rise to wonderful traditions of jewellery-making that form a bridge between nature’s treasures and human creativity.

As gold has long been revered for its inherent beauty, durability, and cultural significance, so too have the other precious wonders of the Earth, notably diamonds, tanzanite, pearls, sapphires, and rubies. Each of these stones carries its own history, from the brilliance of diamonds to the rich blues of tanzanite and the timeless elegance of pearls. 

It is because of the discovery of gold that fine jewellery was born, and so we celebrate grand jewels embellished with gems and gold in our Grand Edition Sale. These jewels and their use continue to evolve with cultural traditions, such as the exchange of wedding rings as a practice. ‘The Grand Edition’ sale offers pieces of unparalleled elegance. Among the highlights is an extraordinary engagement ring featuring a 5.73 ct cushion-cut diamond, flanked by approximately 2.80 ct of trillion-cut diamonds, set on a yellow gold band weighing 6.90 grams as well as a handmade, rectangular 22k yellow gold jewellery box (estimate R 5-6 million), crafted in the 1950s by SA Goldware for storing treasured pieces, this is a modernist piece with functional elegance.  

For those with a passion for rare gems, ‘The Grand Edition’ offers a stunning square-cut emerald ring, weighing approximately 2.85 ct, surrounded by 2.28 ct of round brilliant-cut diamonds in a multi-tier cluster setting (estimate R 60,000 – R90,000) as well as a loose natural vivid yellow emerald-cut diamond (estimate R 6,000,000 – R8,000,000), evaluated and graded by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA). 

The selection is rich with hidden treasures and includes a surprise collection made by renowned London-based designer, Efema Cole, whose pieces were worn by the Singer Lauryn Hill, as she made her debut at the 2025 Met Gala as a guest of co-chair Pharrell Williams. Cole creates sculptural, tactile adornment inspired by geological processes and childhood memories of gold-rich Ghana, working exclusively with ethically sourced African gemstones. In 2022, she was appointed the first curator of diaspora jewellery at the Victoria and Albert Museum in the UK. She is also one of the invited jewellers whose work is featured in the museum’s renowned jewellery collection—the most comprehensive in the world—alongside pieces by widely acclaimed designers like Peter Chang. 

‘Africa Gold Edition’ and ‘The Grand Edition’  celebrate the elemental beauty and enduring worth of gold and jewels — treasures born of stardust, anchored in the earth, and unearthed in Johannesburg. From Egoli to the world.

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A surprise collection by a renowned African, British-based jewellery designer, Efema Cole

Biography 

Independent experimental jewellery artist and designer-maker Emefa Cole was born in Sunyani, West-Central Ghana, in 1979 to a Ga mother and an Ewe and Ga-Dangbe father. Moving to London when she was 12 years old, she graduated from London Metropolitan University’s Cass School of Art in 2011 with a BA (Hons) in Silversmithing and Jewellery. Upon graduation, she launched and built her company: envisioning and bringing to life wearable art which employs subtlety in honouring its inspirations and considered tasteful understatement in its craft.

Designing after Earth’s sweeping geological processes in concert with time and the artefacts of her recollections, Emefa uses 100% recycled metals and stones sourced directly from African gem cutters to forge distinctive body adornment that dares to be quiet in its boldness, sculptural yet flowing, tactile yet intangible, luxurious yet subversive, and gilt yet natural. 

The genesis of the designer can be pinpointed to a childhood fascination with jewellery, precious metals, and stones of the Earth, where girlhood awe flowered into an enrapturement, a bottomless admiration, and a depthless love affair. Growing up in Ghana, Emefa was utterly enthralled by the local folklore surrounding tales of people unearthing gold nuggets exposed by heavy tropical rains; the spectacle of gold winking from the soil’s confines so fixed in her mind that a mythology around unveiling Earth’s treasures holds court and pervades her work to this day. More formative interactions with jewellery include both creation and purchase–stringing Job’s tears (seeds that grow on long grass plants) to construct necklaces, and choosing her own jewellery for the first time: a glorious pair of gold studs set with stones red as pigeon blood.