Sri Lanka very rightly known as the "Jewel Box" in the Indian Ocean is a treasure trove of unending collection of precious gems, and is one of the major hubs of gem mining in the world. The beautiful island in the shape of a pear is also famous for its tea and rubber plantations as well as for gem mines and alluvial gem gravels that have been producing the best quality gems for centuries.
Sri Lanka very rightly known as
the "Jewel Box" in the Indian Ocean
is a treasure trove of unending
collection of precious gems, and is
one of the major hubs of gem mining
in the world. The beautiful island
in the shape of a pear is also
famous for its tea and rubber
plantations as well as for gem mines
and alluvial gem gravels that have
been producing the best quality gems
for centuries. In the ancient age
the island of Sri Lanka or Ceylon
was known as "Taprobane" which is a
Greek word and means "copper
coloured". Veddahs, the natives of
this island country first came
across coloured pebbles in the sandy
bottom of the streams. Invaluable
yields of topaz, rubies, sapphires,
garnets and amethysts make Sri Lanka
stand apart in gem mining when
compared to any other country in the
world. Way back in 1292, when Marco
Polo traveled to Sri Lanka, he was
amazed to find this invaluable
supply of treasure in varied types
and colour.
Ratnapura or 'Gem town' is which is
a picturesque town attracting
tourists from all around the world
is also one of the most prominent
gem mining destination in Sri Lanka.
It is situated around 100 kms
south-east of Colombo and is a major
junction and a link between the
southern plains and the hill
destinations in the east of the
country. Some major gem miners of
Sri Lanka operate from Ratnapura, a
place replete with precious
gemstones. Pelmadulla mine which is
15 kms from the town of Ratnapura is
known for producing some of the best
quality cornflower-blue and white
sapphires. Sapphires in beautiful
hues of blue, yellow, green, violet,
pink as also 'padparaschas' - stones
a shade of orange-pink combination
which are considered to be extremely
rare and precious are found here.
Bright yellow topaz, cinnamon
coloured grossular garnets, the
finest quality of matara diamond or
zircon in colours of orange, brown,
green, yellow and also colourless
occur here. In addition to this
green and yellow tourmaline, brown,
green and yellow Chrysoberyl cats
eye, moonstone and spinel of various
colors is mined in this area of
Ratnapura. Additionally, precious
and rare gemstones like scapolite,
kornerupine, sinhalite, sillimanite,
enstatite, andalusite and Diopside
are also found here. The place has a
bustling market square where gem
trading is a common trade for many
years now. Traditional gem mining
and gem cutting operations are
performed here and the place is the
most popular gem hub of this
beautiful island country. Some years
back, a 5000 carat Chrysoberyl or
cats-eye almost the size of a man's
fist was discovered from a nearby
mine.
According to geological history,
gemstones were discovered in this
charming island not prior to 500
B.C. During this period the
Buddhists who traveled to Sri Lanka
from Northern India found some
precious gems while taking their
bath in the streams and rivers of
this island. The erosion of the
rocks resulted to elongated placer
deposits laden with precious
gemstones in the beds of the flowing
streams in the valleys which were
located in the lower altitudes. The
monks set these attractive colorful
stones in their rings and other
forms of jewellery like bracelets
and armlets frequently worn during
those days. During the course of
their travels they traded these
stones in the different markets of
Asia and Europe. In this manner the
gemstones reached new destinations
in different parts of the globe.
Actually gemstones in Sri Lanka
originated from the Highland Series,
which is a broad belt that cuts
across the centre of this pear
shaped island. This belt has its
edges in the shape of a trough and
is bordered by mountain peaks. The
trough which has components of
crystalline metamorphosed rock along
with schist, marble, pegmatite and
quartzite deposits erodes and
results in the formation of
gemstones along the beds of rivers
and streams in the valleys through
which they flow. Miners soon came to
know about the rich blue and yellow
clay 'illiam' which was underneath
the surface of the lush green
farmlands. Excavating to a depth of
30 meters, ancient streams rich with
gemstones could be discovered.
However, mining caused some damage
to the agriculture of Sri Lanka as
most of the ancient streams were
beneath cultivated fields, causing a
conflict between miners and farmers
in those early days.
