Tomorrow, a lucky lass will make the first of her strides as the new Miss South Africa, and inaugural wearer of the uBuhle crown. The 61st crowning aptly falls on Women’s Day.

The crown, partly inspired by Ndebele patterns, was made by American Swiss Fine Jewellers in collaboration with world-renowned jewellery designer Johan Louw of Uwe Koetter. Louw has worked in the industry as a goldsmith and designer for almost four decades.

Of the crown, marketing director at American Swiss, Zimbini Peffer said: “What better way to celebrate the rich cultural diversity of our nation, than with uBuhle uthingo lenkosazana – the beauty of the rainbow.”

As an ode to the pageant’s jewellery sponsor, the crown also features a hidden logo of American Swiss Fine Jewellers. But what else do you need to know about the new crown jewel?

Here are some interesting facts you might not know:

● The first step in bringing the vision to life was designing the crown to scale on a computer programme, a complex process that took more than 80 hours. Once each detail had been created digitally, it was then 3D printed, moulded and handed over to the production team.

● The manufacturing process took 192 hours to complete. Yes, that is the equivalent of a whopping eight days.

● The handcrafted premium sterling silver beauty took 36 hours of stone sorting to select the white fine-cut Cubic Zirconia stones used. The 2,586 stones were hand cut and set by master diamond cutters and have a total weight of 182cts.

● The eventual winner will not only carry the country’s hope on her shoulders on the global stage, but will also dazzle in a crown that has a total weight of 517gm