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A Glittering Grand Finale For The Kirstenbosch Centenary Year

28 May 2014

Entitled “Kirstenbosch Crown Jewels” Centenary Jewellery Collection, the concept is based on the premise that every kingdom should have its own crown jewels and Kirstenbosch – as the heart of the Cape Floral Kingdom – is no exception. Its centenary year is the most fitting moment in its history to reveal these beautiful treasures.

Its raison d’être is to raise funds for education in biodiversity and conservation at all nine national botanical gardens across the country and introduce children’s gardens, covered lecture areas, propagating nurseries, busses and other facilities to make this possible.

Inspired by the flora and fauna that make Kirstenbosch famous, the nine lots comprising the collection have been created by seven of South Africa’s leading awarding winning jewellers including Uwe Koetter; Platandia; Prins and Prins; Peter Gilder; Cari Mari; Vijay Shah and Kirti Jewellers, and will never be reproduced.

Anglo American has sponsored locally mined platinum for the collection. Pure and eternal, platinum is the world’s rarest precious metal used in jewellery design. It is unsurpassed in ensuring prestige and value in jewellery of this special nature.

The proceeds from the auction will go to the Botanical Society of South Africa (BotSoc) – the non-profit organisation that supports SANBI’s conservation education and outreach programmes, using volunteers from its 30 000-strong member base. SANBI and BotSoc have worked together in this way for 100 years.

The South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) has lent the Kirstenbosch name to this initiative as a means of leveraging its goodwill for the benefit of learners from pre-school through to university, and qualified teachers for capacity building.  SANBI’s education programmes, which are implemented at all national botanical gardens, are designed to inspire and enable learners to take responsibility for their environment and use this knowledge to enhance their lives, homes, schools and communities.

Bidders at the auction will have the chance of creating a legacy in the spirit of Cecil John Rhodes, who bequeathed the land Kirstenbosch occupies to the nation. His far-sighted investment in the preservation of our natural botanical heritage and education stands ready to be replicated at the eight lesser-known gardens through a combination of vision, experience, passion – and money.

As the first Director of Kirstenbosch, Harold Pearson, noted in the South African Journal of Science in 1910: “Therefore, quite apart from geographical considerations, it is obvious that a single garden, however large and well equipped, will not serve the whole of South Africa.”

Ultimately, the initiative is designed to provide the Botanical Society of South Africa with a firm financial foundation to continue the exceptional work it has done alongside SANBI since 1913, and to enable our national botanical gardens to play an increasingly more meaningful role in social transformation and learning as well as eco-science and tourism

The jewellery pieces will be on display at the Cape Grace Hotel from 26 May – 17 June.

For enquiries regarding absentee or telephone bids please contact Strauss & Co: bids@straussart.co.za  or call 072 337 8405

For further information contact the project originator – Christopher Reader                                             

Tel: 021 762 2739 or 082 491 0344

                                                                                                                                                     

Issued by HIPPO Communications  – Contact: Beryl Eichenberger 082 490 6652 beryl@hippocommunications.com

Charlene Key 021 556 8200 charlene@hippocommunications.com