From time immemorial Sri Lanka has had a sparkling reputation for highly treasured gems.

Sri Lanka became known as Ratna Deepa(The Island of Gems). Nature in her bounty has chosen the bosom of Sri Lanka to enshrine some of her rarest treasures.

Sri Lanka can boast of having 17 varieties of precious and semiprecious stone.

The most notable are:- Blue Sapphire:A blue stone with a silvery streak, said to protect its Wearer. Alexandrite: the rarest and possibly the most beautiful of stones.
Stur Ruby: its colour ranges from pale pink to red with a sulky streak.
Yellow Sapphire:poetically known as the “pollen of flowers” because of its soft yellow colouring. Star Sapphire: a rich blue star stone with snowy streaks, said to bring good luck.
Amethyst: a rich purple stone.
Garnet: A deep purplish-red stone, unique for its richness of colour.
Moonstone: a pale blue stone with silvery light only found in Sri Lanka and said to possess the power of tranquilizing its wearer.

The Blue Sapphire is Sri Lanka's Gem Supreme. And Sri Lanka's Blue Sapphires are the finest in the world. Sapphires of the finest quality have what is called the experts 'a corn flower blue' or a royal blue tint. The Sapphires in the world weighing 42 pounds was found in the gem gravels of Sri Lanka. The Blue Giant of the Orient weighing nearly 500 carats and the 400 carat Blue Belle of Asia was purchased by a British multi-millionaire was also from Sri Lanka.