Gemstone Encyclopedia

Detailed, factual profiles of the gemstones mined in and traded through Sri Lanka, sapphires, rubies, spinels, alexandrite, moonstone and more, covering identity, colour, quality, treatments, origin and care.

Tray of faceted coloured Sri Lankan gemstones with a blue sapphire lifted in tweezers

Signature Stones of Sri Lanka

Faceted oval Ceylon sapphire from Sri Lanka in bright medium blue, face-up on black velvet

Ceylon SapphireThe most iconic gemstone of Sri Lanka

Oval padparadscha sapphire in delicate pinkish orange, face-up on black lace

Padparadscha SapphireThe lotus-hued sapphire found almost nowhere else

Greyish-blue star sapphire cabochon showing a sharp six-rayed star under a single light

Star SapphireCorundum crowned with a six-rayed star

Vivid red cushion-cut ruby face-up on black cloth under a single light

RubyThe king of gems in its rarest red form

Oval pinkish-red spinel face-up on dark cloth

SpinelThe great impostor turned connoisseur favourite

Oval alexandrite face-up showing bluish-green and purplish-red colour zones on black cloth

AlexandriteEmerald by day, ruby by night

Honey-coloured cat’s eye chrysoberyl cabochon with a single sharp band of light, face-up on black cloth

Chrysoberyl Cat's EyeA living band of light across golden chrysoberyl

Round moonstone cabochon with soft blue adularescence glowing across the dome, on black cloth

MoonstoneSri Lanka's luminous gift of blue sheen

Traditional Sri Lankan gem mining: hands washing illam gravel in a wooden basket over water at dusk

Most Sri Lankan gems are recovered from alluvial gravels, known locally as illam, worked around Ratnapura, Elahera and the island’s historic gem fields. How these deposits form

Gemstone Encyclopedia

Signature Stones of Sri Lanka

All Gemstones