A Rich Earth – Treasures from the Island of Gems
The glory of a rare blue sapphire, the unmistakable red fire of a ruby, the mysterious glow of a dark alexandrite…the luxuriant earth that hides them so well…yes, it’s a rich earth here in Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka is known the jewel box of Asia owing to its gravelly earth where an amazing range of priceless jewels are born and nursed until they’re discovered by a lucky miner. Sri Lankan gems are found in the crown jewels of Europe & in artefacts from China’s Min Dynasty tombs. Historians trace Sri Lanka’s international gem trade back to 500 BC. The legendary Sri Lankan blue sapphires are known throughout the world for their characteristic corn blue colour while the island also produces an abundance of Rubies, Garnets, Alexandrites, Spinels, Zircons, Perodots, Topazes, Tourmalines, Moonstones & A Highly-Prized Chrysoberyl Cat’s Eye. Gems are found throughout central & southern Sri Lanka. But large scale mining is concentrated in the Ratnapura (meaning ‘City Of Gems’ in Sinhalese) and Elahera areas.
Precious & Semiprecious Gems
Traditionally Diamonds, Rubies, Sapphires & Emeralds are considered precious. However, these terms have now become meaningless in the modern market. You can easily find buy low quality diamonds, rubies, sapphires & emeralds at low prices. And stones such as tourmaline & garnet are sometimes worth thousands of USD per carat.
Sri Lanka offers a variety of precious and semi precious stones;
Blue Sapphire – Sri Lanka’s crowning glory and the most valued pride of corn flower blue colour, is the favorite of fashionable women the world over.
Cat’s Eye – The honey yellow and apple green cat’s Eye renowned for her lustrous smoothness is celebrated by all those who believe in quiet elegance.
Alexandrite – If you are a connoisseur of the rarest discoveries from the mysterious depths of earth you will need to possess an Alexandrite.
Star Ruby – The scarlet perfection and its scintillating beauty add up to the dream come true in gems.
Yellow Sapphire – Pollen of flower is her lyrical name is Sinhala. Her delicate yellow makes this description apt.
Star Sapphire – With her azure heart a gleam with radiant snowy streaks, the star sapphire’s sparkle brings her owner good luck.
Amethyst – Burnished by nature into a high purplish polish, the amethyst is a beauty among gems.
Garnet – All the world’s garnets (pyrope) are ordinary after Sri Lanka’s Elahera Garnet made its radiant bow.
The Four C’s of Gems
Evaluate gemstones using the four “Cs”: carat weight, color, clarity & cut. One carat equals one-fifth of a gram, the unit of measure by which gemstones are sold. Generally the price of the gem increases with its weight. If the gem is cut too deep, most of the carat weight is hidden from the eye & the colour may be too dark. A gem cut too shallow, on the other hand, will lack brilliance & have a flat, washed-out look. An ideally cut gem reflects light evenly from all parts of the table.
Trust your own eyes when judging the colour of a gem. When shopping for rubies, for instance, ask to see a range of colours & qualities available. You will be surprised at the variation in ruby shades, with the reds often showing hints of pink, orange or purple. It is mostly a matter of personal taste as to which shade is the best. No matter what the shade, the brighter, richer & more vivid in colour, the more valuable the stone. Look at the gem in different lights. Some gems look magnificent under florescent lights but appear lifeless in daylight, or vice versa.
Clarity is another important consideration. Only glass or gems of phenomenal value have no inclusions visible to the eye. Flaws can add interest, but look for those jewels with flaws that are least obvious when the gem is viewed face up. Emeralds have more inclusions & small fractures than most other gems. While you cannot avoid internal inclusions in emeralds, avoid those with crack that reach the surface, as they could affect the durability of the gem.
Buying gems
Sri Lanka has a variety of gemstones to offer, in a wide range of quality & prices, making it a tempting place to buy-even if you aren’t a jewelery or gem fanatic. Reputable gem & jewellery stores in the island offer good value
Avoid buying gems from the street and only buy from reputed gem dealers and boutiques. In Sri Lanka, the reputable shops allow the buyers to have the authenticity of the gems verified at the State Gem Corporation- Colombo or at a private yet government certified gem valuation agency prior to the transaction.
– By Shamalee De Silva
Courtesy by:
