Sri Lanka was named ‘Ratnadeepa’, the land of gems, as it was renowned for a wealth of gems since early times. Arabs called it “Jazirat Kakut” which means the island of gems and even the Chinese described it similarly in their own language. Early travelers too defined it as the “Pearl of the East” for its abundant gem mines

According to Richard Boyle, in 9th Century BC, King Solomon procured a grand ruby from the island as a distinctive gift for the Queen of Sheba. More certain is that around 600 BC, the Etruscans incorporated rubies obtained from the island in their jewelry. Two centuries or so later, the Romans began to do likewise. Since that time, fine rubies from Sri Lanka have found their way to all corners of the earth and enhanced the art of adornment.

It seems the ruby was admired locally, too, for Ibn Batuta, a traveler from Tangiers who visited the country sometime between 1333-1341, wrote: “All the women in the island of Ceylon have necklaces of rubies of different colors and wear them also on their arms and legs in place of bracelets and anklets. The sultan’s slave girls make a network of rubies and wear it on their heads.”

Marco Polo, writing in the 13th century, was another who was aware of its existence. “The king of Ceylon is reputed to have the grandest ruby that was ever seen, a span in length, the thickness of a man’s arm; brilliant beyond description, and without a single flaw,” he remarked. “It has the appearance of glowing fire, and its worth cannot be estimated in money. The Grand Kublai Khan sent ambassadors to this monarch to offer for it the value of a city, but he would not part with it for all the treasures of the world, as it was a jewel handed down by his ancestors.”

From time immemorial Sri Lanka has had a sparkling reputation for highly treasured gems. Nature in her bounty has chosen the bosom of Sri Lanka to enshrine some of her rarest treasures. Blue Sapphires, Cat’s Eyes, Alexandrites, Rubies, Star stones found embedded in layers of gravel and sand, in river beds, marshes, fields or accumulated at the foot of hills have made Sri Lanka the renowned island for gems. These precious stones perfected in the laboratory of nature lay hidden for countless ages, their luster undimmed, their value unrecognized. And led by dame fortune, the rare gem emerges genuine and unequaled by any artifice of man. Perhaps nowhere in the world are so many minerals of the gem variety concentrated in so compact an area in such abundance as in Sri Lanka.

The blue sapphire is Sri Lanka’s gem supreme. And Sri Lanka’s blue sapphires are the finest in the world. Sapphires of the finest quality have what is called the experts “a corn flour blue” or a royal blue tint. The highly priced of all gems, the Blue Sapphire is second only to the diamond in hardness. The largest known sapphire in the world weighing 42 pounds was found in the gem gravels of Sri Lanka. The Blue Giant of the Orient weighing nearly 500 carats and the 400 carat Blue Belle of Asia was purchased by a British multimillionaire was also from Sri Lanka. A perfect corn flour blue 92 carat specimen is now on display at the State Gem Corporation. The world jewelry market demands blue sapphires of 5-15 carats. Sri Lanka can supply these in very large quantities. Sri Lanka’s star sapphire is the star beauty among earth’s precious stones. The radiant snowy streaks that gleam in her azure heart are perhaps the solidified version of a colorful dream the world has had long ago of the glory of the universe. The 362 carat Star now with the State Gem Corporation is considered the third largest stone of comparable quality and color in the world. But the most celebrated Sri Lankan star sapphire is on permanent display at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in New York.

Arthur C. Clarke the famous space scientist and futurologist in his epilogue of Rolof Beny’s Island Ceylon comments.......... “and by some distressing impertinence the splendid star sapphire which is one of the glories of American Museum of Natural History’s gem collection is called the Star of Bombay — not as it should be — the Star of Ceylon.”

Moonstone the only gem that is found in situ in Sri Lanka displays a milky bluish sheen similar to that of the moon beams, and hence the name moonstone. Through some quirk of nature, moonstones are found only in a solitary quarter acre block of land in the village of Meetiyagoda to the south of Sri Lanka. The world’s moonstone market is dominated by Sri Lanka.