From history, Sri Lanka was one of the most prominent gem-producing countries in the world. Sri Lanka ranked one of the world’s top producers of quality sapphires and seventy-five other types of gemstones. Since a variety of precious stones are available, Sri Lanka is called Ratna Dweepa, which means Gem Island. This natural wealth is one of the most famous products that put this small island on the world map. Definitely, this lovely island is a leading supplier of beautiful gems and jewellery to the world market.
Above all, Sri Lanka is a legendary island that produced many celebrated gemstones. Most of the world’s largest sapphires and star sapphires that are above the size of 100 carats have originated in Sri Lanka. To clarify, 60% of the largest gemstones including sapphires sourced from our country. It is worth noting that the color of Sri Lankan blue sapphires is excellent, even without heat treatments. Since they have the highest quality, Sri Lankan sapphires used to adorn most of the crown jewels of the monarchies and royal families around the world.
Interestingly, the world’s first, second, and third-largest faceted blue sapphires are all of Sri Lankan origin. Namely, they call Blue Giant of the Orient, Blue Logan Sapphire, and Blue Belle of Asia. In this post, we are going to show you the exquisite beauty of these most celebrated large gemstones in Sri Lanka.
1. Queen of Asia
Sri Lanka is the proud producer of the largest piece of gemstone ever discovered up to date. It is a quite recent finding in the City of Gems or Ratnapura district. This breathtaking gem is one of the world’s largest natural corundum blue sapphire which weighs an astonishing 310 kg.
The public display of this amazing gemstone occurred in December 2021 in Horana, closer to Colombo. Named as the “Queen of Asia”, this is the most recent addition to the world’s largest gem collection. However, this invaluable gem has yet to be precisely valued.
2. Serendipity Sapphire
One of the world’s largest gem clusters was reported in July 2021 from Sri Lanka. Named “Serendipity Sapphire”, this huge gem cluster was discovered in the gem city, Ratnapura area. This large star blue sapphire cluster was accidentally found in a backyard by workmen digging a well in a home.
Currently, this is the world’s largest gem cluster weighs around 510 kg or 2.5 million carats. This amazing gem cluster is 100 cm in length, 72 cm in width, and 50 cm in height. According to the experts, it has an estimated value of over $100 million in the international market.
3. Star of Adam
Discovered in 2016, “Star of Adam” was the world’s largest blue star sapphire gemstone. The Gem City, Ratnapura in Sri Lanka was the home of this rare gem. Most importantly, this huge gem weighed a staggering 1404.49 carats and its value was over $100 million.
The stone got its name due to the bright six-pointed star that appears whenever the light reflects on its surface. Certainly, this dazzling distinctive pattern makes Star of Adam a wonderfully beautiful one. Without a doubt, this gem is a superstar among star sapphires.
4. Giant of the Orient
This is an amazing rare gemstone with a long history, dating back to 1902. This gem discovered in the gem-rich sands of Kalu Ganga River near Adam’s Peak in Ratnapura, Sri Lanka. The rough gem weighed more than 600 carats. After cutting and polishing, the gem transformed into 466 carats. The exceptional quality and enormous size of this gemstone led it to call as “Giant of the Orient”.
Above all, this impressive gem is the largest faceted blue sapphire in the world. However, Giant of the orient was out of the public eye for nearly 100 years. Later, it appeared in Christie’s Magnificent Jewels auction catalog in 2004. Its current owner isn’t known, but it is sure that this extraordinary gemstone keeps safe and secure by its owner.
5. Logan Blue Sapphire
This is one of the most celebrated large gemstones in Sri Lanka. This rich blue flawless sapphire weighing 423 carats is the second-largest blue sapphire in the world. Named as “Logan Sapphire”, this large gem is closer to the size of an egg. After cutting in Sri Lanka, it turned into a dazzling gemstone accompanied by 20 white diamonds giving a marvelous sparkle to the stone.
Currently, this gem is mounted on a silver and gold brooch setting and cushion-cut sapphire exhibit with a violet overtone. Since it belonged to Mrs. Polly Logan, a socialite from Washington D.C., the gem got the name “Logan Blue Sapphire”. She donated this precious stone to the Smithsonian’s collection in 1960. Now this stone is on display at Smithsonian Institution’s Natural Museum of Natural History and it is the heaviest gem in the collection.
6. Blue Belle of Asia
Blue Belle of Asia is one of the legendary sapphires in the world. This huge peacock blue gem weighing an astonishing 400 carats is the third-largest blue sapphire in the world. The word “belle” refers to the extraordinary beauty of this enormous blue sapphire with a highly desirable appearance. The history of this valuable gem is quite long and dates back to 1926. This Blue sapphire discovered in a paddy field in Pelmadulla, Ratnapura city.
Above all, this sapphire is a unique, incredibly rare gemstone with its extent of size, color, and clarity. It ranked as one of the most prestigious gemstones to ever become available in the market. Undoubtedly, the captivating beauty of rare gemstone Blue Belle has made Sri Lanka’s name world-famous for blue sapphires.
For a long time, the whereabouts of the Blue Belle was unknown. Then it appeared in Christie’s auction held in Geneva, Switzerland in 2014. After recutting, it had a weight of 395.52 carats. It transformed into a gorgeous piece of jewellery by mounting it into a beautiful diamond necklace. The necklace has sold for $17.29 million highest price ever and established a new world record for any sapphire sold at an auction.
7. Royal Blue Sapphire
Definitely, Royal Blue Sapphire is a quite famous gemstone in the whole world. This dazzling Ceylon blue sapphire originated in Sri Lanka became highly popular after adorning Princess Diana’s engagement ring in 1981.
The ring consists of 12 carats oval-shaped Royal blue sapphire surrounded by 14 small solitary diamonds set in 18 carats white gold. This gem is one of the finest examples of using Sri Lankan gems in crown jewels in monarchies. Currently, the Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton is the proud owner of this dazzling ring.
8. Heart of the Ocean
Without a doubt, everybody loves the famous diamond necklace of the Titanic film. It contained a stunning heart-shaped blue pendant. The blue gem used for the film was an inexpensive blue quartz gemstone. However, following the commercial success of the Titanic movie, a new impressive necklace created with 170 carats Ceylon blue sapphire and 65 white diamonds.
You might have seen Celine Dion was wearing this precious gemstone necklace for her 1998 performance of “My Heart Will Go On” at the Oscars. Later, Heart of the Ocean was auctioned to an anonymous buyer for $2.2 million at a charity ball for Princess Diana.
This precious gem call as ‘Heart of the Ocean’ made a worldwide sensation and became one of the most celebrated gems in history. The popularity of the Titanic film of course asked for reproductions of this gorgeous necklace. You can see replicas of this necklace are still highly popular among younger generations.
9. Rosser Reeves Star Ruby
With its rich red color and well-defined star, “Rosser Reeves Star Ruby” might be the largest and finest star ruby in the world. It is among the largest star rubies found in Sri Lanka. This star sapphire is an oval cut with a dome displaying very precise Asterism. It combines the rare features of excellent color, good transparency, and a well-defined star pattern in the centre.
This exquisite stone initially weigh 140 carats and after re-polishing, it became 138 carats. This recut helped to center the star. Currently, this star ruby is famous for its perfect asterism and great color, without any contaminations. This ruby got the name of the onetime owner, advertising mogul Rosser Reeves. In the year of 1965, he donated the star ruby to the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History.
10. Eye of the Lion
Have you seen the world’s largest cut cats-eye chrysoberyl gemstone? Named “Eye of the Lion”, this huge gemstone discovered in Sri Lanka. This rare gem has a quite long history. It was first discovered in the late 1800s, in the gem-rich gravels of the Pelmadulla rice fields, in Ratnapura.
The rough cats-eye weighed over 700 carats when it was first found. After cutting and polishing, the final product was a staggering 465 carats cats-eye. Its whereabouts were unknown for a long time until 2006. Eye of the Lion resurfaced to visit the AGTA New York lab in the hands of gemstone dealer Jeffery Bergman of Primagem, Bangkok.
To sum up, Sri Lanka is the only country in the world that had produced extraordinarily large gemstones. It has produced top-quality Blue Sapphires which use for crowns and jewellery throughout the world. Interestingly, the world’s first, second, and third-largest faceted Blue Sapphires have originated in Sri Lanka. Furthermore, Sri Lanka produced the largest gem clusters weighing more than 300 kg. Without a doubt, there isn’t any place on our entire planet that produces the most celebrated large gemstones as Sri Lanka.
Text by Magnificent Sri Lanka. Images from Twitter, Facebook, CNN, BBC, Dreamstime, and geogallery. All copyrights reserved by original authors.
