Sri Lanka, the island known as the pearl of the Indian Ocean lives up to its nickname as a hotbed for a variety of gems. Sri Lanka is home to 40 varieties of Gems out of 85 varieties available in the whole world. Gems of Sri Lanka have found there way to many a court all over the world since time immemorial. Solomon, the Biblical king, epitome of human wisdom had gems brought from Sri Lanka to woo the heart and win the hand of queen Sheba. There exists many a story of jewels from serandib (as Sri Lanka was known in the past) traveling into kingdoms of Cathay and Arabian Gulf. Various types of exquisite gems are found on this paradise isle. Precious stones from Ceylon are of high class; in them we find the maximum refraction and dispersion of light. Some of the gems found there have become famous under special names like 'Sinhalite', 'Ceylonite" etc.
Gems are most commonly found in the following areas of Sri Lanka such as Rathnapura (this town is about 100 km from Colombo), Ehaliyagoda, Balangoda, Kahawatte and etc. Gems are cut and polished to improve luster, which is an industry highly localized in above areas. Many a gem is exported to meet the demand for precious stones, and the rest are supplied to institutions that deal in making jewelry. Many a Gem of Ceylon is blessed with far superior attributes than other gems found elsewhere, throughout the world. The radiance, luminosity and other qualities that define the price of a precious stone, are found to be of the highest order.
"Variety of gem material" that one can find in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) are listed below.
Corundum - Blue Sapphires, Star Sapphires, Rubies, Star Rubies, Yellow Sapphires, Pink Sapphires, Padmadradcha, Orange Sapphires, White sapphires.
Chrysoberyl Cat's Eye, Alexandrite, Alexandrite Cat's Eye, Chrysoberyl.
Spinel Blue Spinel, Red Spinel, Purple Spinel.
Topaz White Topaz (When Treated Makes London Blue)
Zircon Green Zircon, Yellow Zircon, Brown Zircon, Colourless Zircon.
Garnet Rhodolite Garnet, Hessonite Garnet, Pyrope Garnet, Almandine Garnet.
Beryl Aquamarine, Heliodor.
Quartz Smoky Quartz, White Quartz, Amethyst Quartz Cat's Eye
Tourmaline Brown Tourmaline, Yellow Tourmaline (Green & Blue Rare)
Feldspar Moonstones
Also Andalusite, Kornerupine And A Variety Of Agates. And The Rare Gemstones; Sinhalite, Lolite, Indicolite, Fibrolite, Taaffeite, Ekanite And Star Spinel.
