From time immemorial, Sri Lanka
has had a sparkling reputation
for highly treasured gems. Sri
Lanka’s mineral rich soils
have been yielding a seemingly
never ending supply of high
quality precious and semi precious
gems stones such as Sapphires,
Star Sapphires, Rubies, Star
Rubies, Alexandrites, Cat’s
eyes, Garnets, Zircons, Tourmalines
and Spinels.
The
gem industry in Sri Lanka is
of great antiquity. Reference
is made in the Scriptures to
gems being brought from Ceylon
to the Court of King Solomon.
It is also said that ages ago
Arab adventurers came to Ceylon
in search of gems. The Mahavansa,
the great historical chronicle
of Ceylon, refers to the singular
reputation of this Island for
its wealth in gems. It is an
accepted fact that Sri Lanka
is one of the largest sources
of some of the finest gemstones
in the world.
A
few of the priceless treasures
whose origins are traceable
to Sri Lanka are the Blue Giant
of Orient (466 cts) Logan Blue
Sapphire (423 cts), Blue Belle
of Asia (400 cts), Rosser Reeves
Star Ruby (138 cts) and Star
of Lanka (393 cts) and the Ray
of Treasure (105 cts Cat’s
Eye). The Star of Lanka and
Ray of Treasure are in the proud
possession of the National Gem
& Jewellery Authority.
Even
the very names bestowed upon
Sri Lanka, throughout the centuries
echo the riches contained within
its soil. Others believe that
the name given to the Island
by Marco Polo, Seilan, is derived
from the word sila, which means
a rock, possibly in reference
to its abundant wealth in minerals.
Sri
Lanka ranks with Brazil, South
Africa, Myanmar and Thailand
as one of the five most important
gem bearing nations of the world.
Sri Lanka has been a virtual
treasure trove of gems that
have been much sought after
as gifts for royalty form the
Queen of Sheba to Princess Diana.
Of
the country’s many treasures,
none is as beautiful as the
sapphire. Sapphires belong to
the corundum family, which gives
Sri Lanka two of its most valuable
gemstones, rubies and sapphires.
Blue
Sapphires from Sri Lanka boast
of one of the most prized colors
in the world, the famous cornflower
blue. Sri Lanka Sapphires tend
to be brighter and are renowned
for their transparency, superb
clarity and vivid lustre. Many
of the finest specimens of Sapphires
in the world’s top gemstone
collections have come from Sri
Lanka.
The
“Blue Sapphire”
was declared as the “National
Gem Stone of Sri Lanka”
in 2003. Flawless, transparent
blue sapphires of deep blue
color are highly priced. Sri
Lanka is the largest supplier
of top quality, large blue sapphires
of the natural color to the
world.
Spectacular
recent discoveries of Blue Sapphires
in Sri Lanka include;
-
A 850 carat Blue Sapphire
found at Hakamuwa (Ratnapura
District)
-
A massive 8042 carat stone
found in a gem pit at Pelmaddulla.
-
A fine blue sapphire weighing
2516 carats found at Ellawala.
-
Another blue sapphire weighing
4002 carats found at Neelagama.
-
A 250 carat blue sapphire
of deep blue color found at
Ganegama in Pelmaddulla.
Sapphires
are the transparent gem variety
of the mineral family corundum,
second only to the Diamond in
hardness. Blue may be the most
sought after color but the sapphires
also come in yellow, white,
green, pink, orange and purple.
Any non-red corundum is called
a Sapphire. The red variety,
of course, is the ruby.
An enticing array of sapphires
were displayed at FACETS SRI
LANKA – 2005, the 15th
Sri Lanka International Gem
& Jewellery Show held between
31st August and 3rd September
2005, at the BMICH Exhibition
and Convention Centre in Colombo. |
