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Sri Lanka Tours » Travel to Gem City Gem City
SRILANKA – GEM CITY
It is a gem of a country painted in jewel-like colors—green, blue, rust, red... These also find an echo in the earth, from which gems have been mined for centuries.
Gems, Sri Lanka’s most celebrated export, are wreathed in legend. Some years ago, gem-miner Jayaratne sold a blue sapphire to a merchant in Ratnapura, for the equivalent of £ 200 (Rs 14,272).
In 1981, royal jewelers, Garrard set it in a ring of 18-carat white gold and sold it to Prince Charles for £ 28,500 (over Rs 20 lakh). It was Princess Diana’s engagement ring. Prior to Diana’s demise, it was valued at £ 250,000 (over Rs 1 crore), according to a recent issue of the Ceylon Tourist Board newsletter.
Sri Lanka’s reputation for producing exquisite gemstones is in fact legendary. King Solomon is said to have procured a great ruby for the Queen of Sheba from "Ceylon." The ruby that once adorned the pinnacle of the Buddhist stupa Ruwanveliseya in Anuradhapura, featured in the writings of Marco Polo. "A flawless ruby a span long and quite as thick as a mans arm" was how he described it. The 400-carat blue sapphire set in the British crown also came from Sri Lanka. The famed Star Of India (a misnomer), a star sapphire on permanent display at the Museum of Natural History in New York also originated in Sri Lanka, states the newsletter.
Ratnapura (literally, City of Gems), is situated 100 km east of Colombo, at the foot of Adam’s Peak and not far from the tropical rainforest. Sinharaja is the best known location for the mining of gems. The affluent lifestyle of the residents in the area is evident from the architecture and expanse of houses alongside the roads that take you to Nuwara Eliya. The nearby township has gem museums and numerous shops that display the art of cutting and polishing gems.
The varieties of gems found in Sri Lanka are chrysoberyl, cat’s eye, diamond, garnet, moonstone, quartz, ruby, sapphire, spinel, topaz, tourmaline and zircon.
The most prized of the fancy non-blue sapphires that many connoisseurs believe can only come from Sri Lanka is padparadscha—a Sinhalese word derived from the Sanskrit padmaraga meaning lotus flower. While lotus flowers come in many colors, the original species is pinkish-orange. "A padparadscha sapphire is a delicate blend of these two colours. The effect is breathtaking." (Carole Clark: Tropical Gemstones of India and Sri Lanka.)
"The most sought after moonstones have a haunting blue sheen, an effect produced by orthoclase feldspar which is found almost exclusively in stones from Sri Lanka." (ibid.) They can cost US$ 700 (Rs 16,000) per carat or more.
Zircons are an inexpensive substitute for diamonds. Colorless zircons are "sometimes called Matara diamonds, after a place in Sri Lanka where they are mined." (ibid.)
And if you want to buy baubles, head for Sea Street in Colombo, replete with jewelry shops. Here jewelry and precious stones glitter behind a forest of neon. If you have doubts about everything that glitters... the State Gem Corporation gives a guarantee for every stone it sells and can also test outside purchases at no charge at its laboratory in York Street, Colombo. Savvy shoppers advise neophytes not to buy gems from jewelers who are not approved by the Ceylon Tourist Board.
It is a gem of a country painted in jewel-like colors—green, blue, rust, red... These also find an echo in the earth, from which gems have been mined for centuries.
Gems, Sri Lanka’s most celebrated export, are wreathed in legend. Some years ago, gem-miner Jayaratne sold a blue sapphire to a merchant in Ratnapura, for the equivalent of £ 200 (Rs 14,272).
In 1981, royal jewelers, Garrard set it in a ring of 18-carat white gold and sold it to Prince Charles for £ 28,500 (over Rs 20 lakh). It was Princess Diana’s engagement ring. Prior to Diana’s demise, it was valued at £ 250,000 (over Rs 1 crore), according to a recent issue of the Ceylon Tourist Board newsletter.
Sri Lanka’s reputation for producing exquisite gemstones is in fact legendary. King Solomon is said to have procured a great ruby for the Queen of Sheba from "Ceylon." The ruby that once adorned the pinnacle of the Buddhist stupa Ruwanveliseya in Anuradhapura, featured in the writings of Marco Polo. "A flawless ruby a span long and quite as thick as a mans arm" was how he described it. The 400-carat blue sapphire set in the British crown also came from Sri Lanka. The famed Star Of India (a misnomer), a star sapphire on permanent display at the Museum of Natural History in New York also originated in Sri Lanka, states the newsletter.
Ratnapura (literally, City of Gems), is situated 100 km east of Colombo, at the foot of Adam’s Peak and not far from the tropical rainforest. Sinharaja is the best known location for the mining of gems. The affluent lifestyle of the residents in the area is evident from the architecture and expanse of houses alongside the roads that take you to Nuwara Eliya. The nearby township has gem museums and numerous shops that display the art of cutting and polishing gems.
The varieties of gems found in Sri Lanka are chrysoberyl, cat’s eye, diamond, garnet, moonstone, quartz, ruby, sapphire, spinel, topaz, tourmaline and zircon.
The most prized of the fancy non-blue sapphires that many connoisseurs believe can only come from Sri Lanka is padparadscha—a Sinhalese word derived from the Sanskrit padmaraga meaning lotus flower. While lotus flowers come in many colors, the original species is pinkish-orange. "A padparadscha sapphire is a delicate blend of these two colours. The effect is breathtaking." (Carole Clark: Tropical Gemstones of India and Sri Lanka.)
"The most sought after moonstones have a haunting blue sheen, an effect produced by orthoclase feldspar which is found almost exclusively in stones from Sri Lanka." (ibid.) They can cost US$ 700 (Rs 16,000) per carat or more.
Zircons are an inexpensive substitute for diamonds. Colorless zircons are "sometimes called Matara diamonds, after a place in Sri Lanka where they are mined." (ibid.)
And if you want to buy baubles, head for Sea Street in Colombo, replete with jewelry shops. Here jewelry and precious stones glitter behind a forest of neon. If you have doubts about everything that glitters... the State Gem Corporation gives a guarantee for every stone it sells and can also test outside purchases at no charge at its laboratory in York Street, Colombo. Savvy shoppers advise neophytes not to buy gems from jewelers who are not approved by the Ceylon Tourist Board.
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