Sri Lanka, renowned for extracting the world’s most exquisite and expensive blue sapphires, boasts a rich tapestry of gem deposits that sets it apart globally. With 25% of its landmass dedicated to gem mining, the island nation harbors an extraordinary variety of gems, including star sapphires, rubies, cat’s eyes, alexandrites, emeralds, and tourmalines, creating one of the highest gem density landscapes on Earth.
Intriguingly shaped, the island historically attracted curious travelers, leaders, and adventurers who traversed the rock bridge between Mannar and Rameshwaram, connecting Sri Lanka and India. These explorations led to the discovery of marble, illuminate, and precious stones within the island’s interior. The abundance of sapphires, tourmalines, and rubies in the southwest played a pivotal role in the construction and maintenance of a causeway between Sri Lanka and India, facilitating trade caravans carrying attractive rocks, marble, granite, pearls, and other precious gems.
According to the legendary tale of Godking Rama, Sita, and Godking Ravana, the throwing of boulders during their feuds resulted in the transformation of these rocks into precious metals and stones, spreading across the country, particularly in Ratnapura and Elahera. The continuous discovery of gems in these areas attracts foreign travelers to low-profile gem shops, fairs, and exhibitions, offering lustrous stones with remarkable qualities such as clarity, color, glow, glisten, translucence, purity, density, shape, mass, and appealing cuts.
As the gem industry thrives, the mining, exploration, and trade of precious stones have spawned a flourishing cottage industry for handcrafted jewelry that matches the polished and cut gemstones. Originating in the 1700s, this industry has evolved, and some entities have expanded overseas, establishing branches in India, the Middle East, Africa, and Southeast Asia, particularly in successful hubs like Singapore, Bangkok, Pattaya, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, and Darussalam in Brunei.
In reflecting on the enduring nature of gems, one might say, “If diamonds are forever, sapphires are for a lifetime.”