From time immemorial Sri Lanka has had a sparkling reputation for highly treasured gems and perhaps nowhere else so many minerals of gem variety exist and concentrated in so compact an area of such abundance as in this island.
According to legend, King Solomon sent his emissaries to the island to get the most beautiful and valuable gems for him to win the love of Queen Sheba. According to Richard Boyle, in 9th century BC, King Solomon procured a grand ruby from the island as a distinctive gift for the queen.
Many ancient travelers and traders made Sri Lanka one of their destinations for valuable treasures of gems. The Arabian Nights regales readers with the description of Sinbad the Sailor discovering the rarest and most precious rainbow-hued priceless gemstones on the island of Sri Lanka, when he was washed ashore here.
In 600BC, 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.”
This pearl island is often described as a reservoir of precious and semi-precious stones. These stones set in traditional and contemporary designs according to the demands of the international market make Sri Lanka one of the major manufacturers and exporters of jewelry in the world. Sri Lanka is known for the most dazzling gemstones of every hue and variety. Some of the world’s rarest gems like Blue Sapphires, Cat’s Eyes, Alexandrites, Rubies, Amethysts and Star Sapphires are found in abundance, embedded in layers of gravel, riverbeds, marshes, fields as well as at the foothills throughout the country.
Gems found here are far superior to those found in the rest of the world. Perfected in the laboratory of nature, they lay hidden for countless ages. The radiance, luminosity and other qualities attributed to Sri Lankan gems are of the highest quality. Added to this, the exquisite craftsmanship of the local jewelers has made Sri Lanka a paradise for lovers of gems and gem-studded jewelry.
While traditional designs are still in great demand, Sri Lankan jewelers have reoriented their craftsmanship to cater to foreigners. Most leading jewelry manufacturers showcase their collections overseas at jewelry trade fairs, where they find many buyers from all over the world.
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 flower 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 purchased by a British multimillionaire was also from Sri Lanka. A perfect corn flower 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 Sapphires 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 Lanka’s star Sapphire is on permanent display at the Smithsonian museu of Natural History in New York.
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 in the south of Sri Lanka. The world’s moonstone market is dominated by Sri Lanka. The Sri Lanka Gem & Jewelry Exchange (SLGJE), state-sponsored Gem & Jewelry Gallery, offers potential gem and, jewelry with a wide range of services under one roof, including trading, lapidary services — gem testing laboratory and gem certification. Two buyer-seller meeting points are available at the Sri Lankan Gem & Jewelry Exchange at the World Trade Center and the Gem Exchange — Ratnapura. These units will be of much use to lesser-organized traders. The Gem Export Center at the Air Cargo Village which functions round the clock has become very popular among exporters and importers.
The authority has introduced new services for gem traders in Paththekade, Beruwela to facilitate their trading through a service center initially once a week. Paththekade is a gem bazaar with a daily inflow of gems from all the producing areas.