Designing Fortune: S. African entrepreneur designs unique jewelry with African flair

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Europe

03:03

If you're looking for a unique piece of jewelry that oozes African flair, then a designer in South Africa's coastal city, Durban, may have just the thing for you. A young man from humble beginnings has built up his own studio and a name for himself internationally - with his intricate, imaginative designs. Take a look.

S'BHEKILE NDLANGISA FOUNDER, S'BHEKILE JEWELERS "My name is S'bhekile Ndlangisa, I'm a jeweler. I grew up at the Drakensberg, right under the Tugela Falls. The kind of art that I did when I was young was about making cars out of wires and moulding elephants and rhinos out of clay. But not the fancy clay that you buy in the shop, out of mud and water, the one that we dig from the ground.

And we made a lot of money. Tourists would come round. They'd see these young boys - 5 years, 10 years, 15 years selling there. But little did I know that, that was preparing me for my career and adulthood.

When I finished my matric at the Drakensberg, then I moved into Durban. Like any other village boy, coming to the city actually, you don't know anyone. You don't even have a place to stay.

When I got into DUT. Well, it's the main university here, University of Technology. I didn't know what to do.

I saw this and someone talking about jewelry, and then they took me to the studio where the classes happen.

And I was just fascinated. I said ja, this is what I wanna do.

I wanted to be able to make that diamond ring -- the one I saw on the catalogue that day. And I just fell in love.

In my third year, that's when I started making money out of jewellery because what happened is I would make jewellery for my friends, people around me, in the township that I was staying at, Cato Manor.

In a township, there is no people who does this type of job. I was the only one.

I would sit till so late at tech, after finishing projects, school projects. Then I would do the extra work for my clients.

The vision changed from just finishing and getting a job, after university, changed to, go out there and develop my own studio, my own brand, S'bhekile Jewellers.

I went to work for two jewelers in town for about one and a half year, just to get more experience.

When I was working there, in my head it was about S'bhekile Jewellers. It has to materialize. I was working on it. I will buy tools one-by-one as you can see all of them over there. I didn't get money from any funds from someone or a bank or anything like that. And as soon as I finished there, I started working from home.

I'm influenced by the things that surrounds me. Things that I see. And some part of it, of my childhood.

Those are the things that inspire me. And I take all those elements, and then apply them into my jewelry.

I use different materials and incorporate it with precious metals - gold, silver and platinum, and also with the precious gemstones, you know to make it look interesting.

I want wherever you go, you must look different. I want to make it look different and mostly about you, tell the story about you, the customer.

I've got so many pieces for people from overseas, coming in here and buying, and some of them they say this is different, it's beautiful. It's African.

This moulding and using my hands, and my imagination as an artist, my creativity, that I'm making a living out of this. That's like the best feeling ever. Every day, when I wake up at home and then coming to my studio is something I look forward to every day. You know, because I'm just enjoying myself. It's a marvelous journey."

JS, CGTN, DURBAN, SA.