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. |
