History

There are very few things in the modern world that connect us directly to the ancient world — but a Ceylon sapphire is one of them. The same gem deposits that today supply the workshops of Geneva, the auction rooms of Hong Kong, and the jewellery streets of Colombo have been worked continuously for more than two thousand years. Kings and emperors, merchants and sailors, pilgrims and conquerors have all coveted the gems of this island. The story of Ceylon gems is, in many ways, the story of the ancient world's most enduring luxury trade.

The Ancient World: Before the Common Era

Sri Lanka's gem trade predates written records. The Mahavamsa — the great Sri Lankan chronicle written in Pali in the 5th century CE but recording events from centuries earlier — describes gems as part of the wealth of ancient Sinhalese kingdoms. Archaeological excavations at Anuradhapura, the ancient capital, have uncovered gem-set jewellery and loose gems that date to the 3rd century BCE and earlier.

The island's strategic position in the Indian Ocean — midway between India and Southeast Asia, and on the sea route from the Arabian Peninsula to China — made it a natural entrepôt for luxury goods. Ancient Roman trading ships called at Sri Lankan ports; Roman coins from the 1st and 2nd centuries CE have been found in southern Sri Lanka, evidence of direct commercial contact. Roman writers, including Pliny the Elder in his Natural History (77 CE), mention gems from "Taprobane" — their name for Sri Lanka — including sapphires, rubies, and beryls.

The Medieval Period: Arab Traders and the Silk Road

Through the medieval period, Arab merchants dominated the gem trade between Sri Lanka and the rest of the world. Arab geographers and travellers wrote extensively about the gems of Ceylon. The great 14th-century Moroccan traveller Ibn Battuta visited Sri Lanka in 1344 and described in vivid detail the ruby and sapphire mines of Ratnapura, the city whose very name means "City of Gems" in Sinhala.

Perhaps most famously, Marco Polo — the Venetian explorer who journeyed across Asia between 1271 and 1295 — described the Isle of Ceylon in his accounts as possessing "rubies, sapphires, topazes, amethysts, and many other precious stones." He specifically noted the King of Ceylon's possession of a magnificent ruby — described as "the most beautiful and valuable in the world." Whether this was truly a ruby or a large red spinel (as many "rubies" of that era turned out to be) is a matter of gemological debate, but the account testifies to the legendary status of Ceylon gems in medieval Europe and the Middle East.

The Colonial Period: Portuguese, Dutch, and British

The arrival of the Portuguese in Sri Lanka in 1505 opened a new chapter in the gem trade. The Portuguese — and later the Dutch (1658) and the British (1796) — recognised the economic significance of Sri Lanka's gems and brought them into the European luxury market with new intensity. The British colonial administration formalised gem mining regulations and export procedures, creating the regulatory framework that the National Gem and Jewellery Authority later inherited at independence.

The British period also brought gemological science to Ceylon. European gemologists studied the island's deposits and documented the extraordinary diversity of gem species found in a single geographical area — a diversity that remains unmatched anywhere else on earth. It was during this period that Ceylon became synonymous, in the European jewellery trade, with sapphire of the highest quality.

Ceylon Gems in Royal Collections

The finest Ceylon gems found their way into the royal collections and crown jewels of Europe, Persia, and the Mughal Empire. The Stuart Sapphire — a large oval blue sapphire now set in the British Imperial State Crown — is believed to be of Ceylon origin, and has been part of the British royal collection since at least the 17th century. The famous Blue Belle of Asia — a 392.52-carat Ceylon sapphire — sold at Christie's Geneva in 2014 for over USD 17 million, setting a world record for a coloured gemstone at auction at that time.

Perhaps the most visible Ceylon sapphire in the modern world is the one worn daily by Catherine, Princess of Wales — the 12-carat oval Ceylon blue sapphire that formed Princess Diana's engagement ring and was subsequently given to Prince William for his engagement to Catherine Middleton. This single stone, seen millions of times in photographs and broadcasts around the world, has done more to raise awareness of Ceylon sapphire than any marketing campaign could.

Ceylon Gems Today

Sri Lanka gained independence in 1948, and the gem industry came under national regulation through the National Gem and Jewellery Authority (NGJA), established in 1971. Today, Sri Lanka's gem industry employs hundreds of thousands of people directly and indirectly, from miners and washers in Ratnapura to cutters and polishers in Colombo to dealers and exporters serving the international market.

Sri Lanka exports gems to over 50 countries, with the largest markets being the United States, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Japan, and the Middle East. The "Ceylon" origin designation — confirmed by laboratory certificate — remains one of the most commercially powerful provenance claims in the coloured gemstone world, commanding premiums that reflect two millennia of consistent quality and reputation.

The gem deposits of Ratnapura are finite — they have been worked for two thousand years and will not last forever. But for now, the earth continues to yield its treasures, the miners continue to lower their baskets into the illam gravels, and the gems of Ceylon continue their ancient journey from the ground to the greatest collections in the world.

Disclaimer: Historical accounts are based on published scholarship and may be subject to ongoing academic revision. CeylonGemLuxury does not sell gemstones directly.