Picturesque hills, coated with mysterious mist, abounded in gently murmuring streams, rumbling waterfalls, lush forests, green tea lands and life-giving paddy fields, hides treasures, which have fascinated people since the beginning of time.
Early in the morning, the narrow streets of a small town are filled with vendors and traders hurrying to the local stone market. Ratnapura, the city of gems is known for centuries because of the gems found in the nearby valleys. World famous sapphires: blue, yellow, purple, green and which are especially sought-after pink and orange once, so-called padparadscha. Traders watch, discuss, measure and weigh raw or ground stones. They are looked for the best, which will be later sold by local and foreign jewellers.
For casual tourists who have no idea of the precious stones, the way is to buy them in one of the shops located in the main street of the city where each gem sold should be certified.
Beautiful local stones and jewellery can be purchased in many Sri Lankan cities, but the centre of commerce is Kandy, where there are many reputable shops and gem cutters and polishers with a special state license.
Sapphires, rubies, amethysts, alexandrites, topazes, grenades, moonstones and many others, in fact about 70 kinds of 200 known in the world is mined on the island. The most valuable Ceylon sapphires are cornflower sapphires because of their unique intensely blue colour, shine and transparency. They are most valued among collectors. They have decorate many crowned heads. A blue sapphire decorated the engagement ring which was once worn by Princess Diana, and later placed by Prince William on his fiancee’s, Kate Middleton finger.
All the precious stones are produced almost exclusively using traditional methods known for centuries.
One of the most common method is a pit mining. About 30 meters deep pit-shaft which spread into horizontal tunnels up to 10 meters long.
Since the beginning of time, Sri Lanka has been known as the island of gems and the kings sent the precious stones to the neighbouring rulers to ensure good relations. The location of the island made it an important trade stop on the ancient silk route. Its natural beauty, richness of spices and precious stones were celebrated in the ancient tales of the Chinese, Greeks, Romans and Arabs. In colonial times, the monopolies on the trade and processing of the stones on the island were dominated by the Moors, and there appeared foreign companies that took over the control of the stone mines and began large-scale mining.
Since gaining independence, the state has been supervising mining of stones. The mining activities requires a license from The National Gem and Jewelry Authority (NGJA).
A few examples of the most famous sapphires found in Sri Lanka:
- The Star of Adam(1,404.49 carats), blue star sapphire, the largest in the world
- The Star of India(563.35 carats), The American Museum of Natural History in New York City
- Blue Giant of the Orient(466 cts)
- Logan Blue Sapphire(423 cts), The National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C
- Blue Belle of Asia(400 cts)
- Star of Lanka(393 cts), The Royal Ontario Museum in Canada
