Gems & Spices

As one of the world’s steadiest suppliers of top-quality Ceylon Sapphires and seventy-five other types of gemstones, Sri Lanka is one of the most important countries in the world when it comes to gem and jewellery, despite its small size. Hailed as the mythical Tarshish, the legendary island of invaluable gemstones, Sri Lanka has been the source of many celebrated gemstones, pearls and luxury jewellery throughout history and has a long association with the international gem and jewellery trade.

Today, Sri Lanka is the ninth-largest exporter of precious stones to the global market and one of the five most important gem bearing nations of the world. In addition to our globally celebrated Ceylon Sapphires, Sri Lanka is also a celebrated destination for Rubies, Padparadscha, and Moonstones while Sri Lankan lapidaries excel at faceting gemstones and diamonds to its fullest lustre. Both the artisan culture of jewellery craftsmanship and Sri Lanka’s gem industry has been widely acclaimed in literary works dating as far back as 250 B.C.

Today Sri Lanka has made its mark in the international market as a world-class gem and jewellery hub and is known for quality gemstones and creating fine jewellery in a range of unique and exquisite designs. The entire industry employs approximately 600,000 people, including miners, cutters and polishers, dealers, jewellery designers, manufacturers and craftsmen, and marketing resources.

Gems of Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka has had a long association with the global gem and jewellery trade. As a country with the highest density of gems in the world, compared to the rest of the gem producing countries, mainly due to our high availability of precious gem resources in a relatively smaller geographical area, we mine, facet and supply nearly 75 types gemstones to the global market.