Last month Xiao Ha saw one
Shocking news
Sri Lankan state declared bankruptcy!
The whole country is in chaos!
OMG！ This is one of the must-go lists for Xiao Ha's life!
Xiao Ha also wants to go there to take a ride on the same sea train in "Spirited Away", go to the alpine tea garden to drink a cup of Ceylon black tea, enjoy the sea breeze of the Indian Ocean on the golden beach that stretches for more than 1200 kilometers, live in harmony with the animals in the mysterious rainforest, pray in the mysterious temple of the millennium, explore the traces of history at the world cultural site, and explore the exotic style of Sri Lanka in the ancient ancient city...
Known as the "pearl of the Indian Ocean", it is the "white moonlight" in the minds of world travel enthusiasts, and the map of Sri Lanka in the eyes of tourists is like this:
As a watch and jewelry lover, in addition to the above picture, the map of Sri Lanka in Xiao Ha's eyes can also be like this:
You know, Sri Lanka is one of the world's top five gemstone producing areas, with more than 70 of the more than 200 kinds of colored gemstones found in the world, in addition to the north of the Jaffna Peninsula has not yet found gem mines, throughout the country's foothills, river valleys, plains and hills, are rich in gem resources, about 90% of the country is distributed with gemstones can produce parent rocks. Among them, there are more than 30 kinds of precious stones, including rubies, sapphires, opals, garnets, golden emeralds, aquamarines, asterites, moon stones, etc., especially sapphires are the most famous.
If you look closely at the map above, you will find that the entire outline of the country of Sri Lanka looks like a pear-cut gemstone necklace, so it is also known as "Gem Island". In the famous storybook One Thousand and One Nights, Sri Lanka is called Serendib, which means Jewel Island; The high monk Faxian of the mainland also said in his book "The Book of the Buddha's Kingdom" that the Shizi Kingdom is rich in gemstones, and it can be said that gemstones from ancient times to the present are the eternal legends of Sri Lanka...
Therefore, there are many famous top gemstones in the world from the land of Sri Lanka, and today Xiao Ha will take you to see these amazing gemstones:
Asian Blue Lady
—Blue Belle of Asia—
This is the most expensive sapphire in the history of auction, found in 1926, the rough weighed about 400 carats, cut about 395.52 carats, hung on a diamond fringe necklace, in 2014 by Christie's for 16.965 million Swiss francs, equivalent to about 116.5 million yuan of sky-high price, setting a new world auction price record for sapphires. It is the fourth largest sapphire in history, not the "largest" but the "most expensive" because it is not only large, but also has excellent clarity and a beautiful and rich blue color.
The Blue Giant of the East
—Blue Giant of the Orient—
The most expensive one comes from Sri Lanka and the biggest one also comes from Sri Lanka! The Oriental Blue Giant was discovered in Sri Lanka in 1907, and it is reported that the original rough weighed 600 carats, and was later processed into cushion-shaped sapphires weighing about 486.52 carats, which is currently the world's largest cut sapphire, although the color is not as rich as the Asian blue beauty, but it is also a rare treasure. In 2004, the gem appeared at christie's auction in Geneva, and it was not sold on the spot, but the estimated price at that time was almost 1.5 million US dollars, and now it is almost 20 years, and now the price is up to everyone!)
Adam's Star
—The Star of Adam—
It is currently the world's largest star sapphire, weighing 1404.49 carats, rough was mined in August 2015 from the mining area near Ratnapul in southern Sri Lanka, and the surface has a significant starlight effect after cutting and polishing, so it is called star sapphire. The auction price is estimated to reach $175 million, equivalent to a year's worth of gemstones in Sri Lanka. The gem was named "Adam's Star" because it is believed that Adam came to Sri Lanka after leaving the Garden of Eden and lived here at Adam's Peak, which is his second home. In honor of Adam, people named it after him.
Star of India
—Star of India—
The Star of India is the second largest star sapphire in the world, weighing 563.35 carats, found in Sri Lanka, but is known as the Star of India because Sri Lanka was under the rule of the British East India Company at that time. Although smaller than Adam's Star, its six-shot starlight is flawless and has very few flaws, it is very gorgeous, and for this once-in-a-millennium gemstone, any cutting modification will depreciate, so it is just a pure loose stone with little polishing. At the end of the 19th century, the American financier J.P. Morgan bought the "Star of India" from a private collector and donated it to the Smithsonian Museum in the United States. On October 28, 1964, the "Star of India" was stolen from the Smithsonian Museum, but fortunately it was returned to Zhao a few months later.
Star of Lanka
—Star of Lanka—
The name of the Star of Lanka is of course produced in Sri Lanka, found in the 20th century, weighing 393 carats, because it is too precious, so it has not been publicly exhibited, it is said that only state guests visit Sri Lanka, have the opportunity to witness it. Others say it's just a copy, and the gem doesn't exist anymore.
Ceylon Kraken
—Siren of Serendip—
Siren of Serendip is currently the fourth largest faceted-cut sapphire from Sri Lanka, a 422.66 ct sapphire supported by four sets of platinum prongs and a floral diamond necklace. Found in Sri Lanka in the early 20th century, this sapphire weighed 2,670 carats before cutting, and later this sapphire was cut in a modified cushion shape, with multiple layers of finishes visible on top to give a more concentrated tone. The "Siren" in the name of the gem is derived from the Siren Siren in Greek mythology, highlighting the unique charm, while the "Serendip" is Ceylon, the ancient name of Sri Lanka, symbolizing the origin of this sapphire.
In 2018, the Natural Science Museum in Houston, USA, purchased the sapphire and commissioned British jeweler Henn of London to customise a necklace to highlight its unparalleled natural beauty. Henn of London is themed after the museum's state flower, "Cornflower," a natural deep blue hue that echoes sapphire.
Princess Diana's engagement ring
—“Royal Blue”—
In 1981, when Diana and Charles were engaged, she chose a sapphire ring, set in 18K white gold, 14 diamonds surrounded by 12 carats of Sri Lankan sapphires, like the stars arching the moon, the simple and generous design is very in line with Princess Diana's unique temperament, worth 28,500 pounds at the time. This legendary sapphire ring, now passed down to Princess Kate, has become a classic in royal jewelry and is now worth £300,000.
Queen sapphire of Romania
—Queen of Romania—
In 1921, King Ferdinand of Romania bought a 478.68 ct Sri Lankan sapphire, which he gave to his wife, Queen Maria, the granddaughter of Queen Victoria of England and Tsar Alexander II of Russia, so the gem was named "Queen of Romania Sapphire", which witnessed the eternal love between the king and queen.
Queen Mary
Queen Mary loved it so much that she wore it only on the most important occasions, and at the coronation of King Ferdinand in 1922, the queen wore the necklace. Originally designed by Cartier, this sapphire is set on a floral-decorated diamond base and is originally attached to a waist-length diamond necklace to wear, which is very noble and gorgeous!
But in 1947, Queen Maria's grandson, King Michael, was forced into exile and sold the necklace to jewelry collector Harry Winston. It remained in the possession of collectors until its appearance at Christie's Geneva auction in November 2003 for CHF 1,916,000.
Logan sapphire
—Logan sapphire—
The "Logan Sapphire" from Sri Lanka has the best "genetic pedigree", weighing 423 carats, the size of an egg, and in 1960, Ms. John A. Logan, a famous washington woman, donated this stunning sapphire diamond brooch to the Smithsonian Museum in the United States, hence the name Logan Sapphire. Identified by GIA in 1997 as a natural, unheated gemstone, its beauty, beauty and weight coexist, and the deep blue color also has a soft blue indigo color, so it is very rare to have such a clear and huge sapphire.
Louvre sapphire set
—Siren of Serendip—
This sapphire set, which includes crowns, necklaces, earrings and rings, is the most complete preserved sapphire set, with the center stone being a natural sapphire from Sri Lanka surrounded by countless diamonds. The luxury and nobility of this set of jewelry can be seen only in the number of sapphires. This set is an heirloom of the Bourbon harem, worn by queens throughout the ages, queens of Hortense, Marie-Amlie and Isabelle of Orléans were once the owners of the jewelry, and several of them have also made modifications to it. Today, this set is in the collection of the Louvre Museum in France, which is one of the top ten must-see town hall treasures.
Catherine the Great Sapphire
—Catherine the Great Sapphire—
This hand is quite famous in the jewelry industry, and people who know a little about jewelry should know it, that is, the famous "Harry Winston Hand"! Many people do not know that the largest sapphire at the top is from Sri Lanka, called Julius Caesar Sapphire, weighing 337.10 carats, which Harry Winston bought in 1948.
According to the literature, this sapphire has a historical origin, and it was the private collection of the Empress Catherine the Great of the Russian Empire from 1762 until her death in 1796. The sapphire is closely linked to the history and destiny of the Russian Empire and was eventually acquired by a private collector in 1914. Later, it became part of harry Winston's "Court of Jewels" collection and toured the United States between 1949 and 1953.
The above are some famous and surnamed "star sapphires", if you want to count the sapphires produced in Sri Lanka, it is really too much! Sri Lanka produced sapphires with high transparency, few internal inclusions, light color and large crystal particles, while having a strong fluorescent reaction, excellent quality has always been the favorite of princes and nobles and jewelry collectors, and Sri Lanka's sapphire production is extremely large, in recent years, but also continue to find a number of giant sapphire rough, it can be said that the status of "sapphire land" is not Sri Lanka!
However, many people do not know that sapphires are not just blue, sapphires are actually a large category, including blue sapphires, colored sapphires and star sapphires. Colors range from light blue to dark blue to violet blue, blue-green, yellow, slightly reddish orange, brown, nearly opaque black, colorless, pink, purple and pink orange.
Among them, the pink orange sapphire is a very special sapphire, also known as "Papalachian sapphire", which belongs to a very precious and rare variety, the word Padparadscha is derived from the Sinhala language "Padmaraga", an indigenous Sri Lankan language, which is a red lotus color that represents holiness and life.
It has a magical color of both pink and orange hues, forming an indescribably beautiful color, known as the "miracle of one in fifty thousand"! Paparacha sapphires are like red lotus flowers in full bloom, which makes people feel excited at a glance! It is low-yielding, rare and expensive, and the locality of Sri Lanka is even reluctant to export it to protect this rare gemstone, making it increasingly valuable. Many connoisseurs consider Papalachia to be the prettiest of all gemstones, with the most orthodox from Sri Lanka.
The British royal family, which has always been very picky about jewelry, is also interested in Papalachia, and when the Queen's granddaughter Princess Eugenie was engaged to wine merchant Jack Brooksbank in 2018, in the official engagement photo released at Buckingham Palace, Princess Eugenie wore an engagement ring encrusted with Papalachian sapphire on her left ring finger.
Weighing around 5 carats, this pink-orange sapphire is surrounded by 10 round brilliant-cut diamonds and 2 teardrop-shaped diamonds, potentially worth more than £100,000.
However, Xiao Ha also said earlier, in addition to producing excellent sapphires of various colors, Sri Lanka also has many treasure gemstones, and some are very famous in the world, such as:
Rosser Rivers Star Ruby
—Rosser Reeves Star Ruby—
The Rosser Rivers Star Ruby is currently the largest and best quality star ruby in the world, initially weighing 140 carats and polished at 138.7 carats, produced in Sri Lanka. It gets its name from one of its former owners, Rosser Revers, an advertising tycoon who bought the gem at an auction in Istanbul in the mid-1950s and often carries the gem with him as a lucky stone and sees it as his "treasure." In 1965, he donated the gem to the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. The gem has been in the museum's collection ever since.
The Lion's Eye
—The Eye of the Lion—
Lion's Eye is a 465 ct opal, is currently the world's largest opal, found in the late 1800s in the Rathnapura region of Sri Lanka, opal is the most expensive kind of emerald, the world's main source is now Sri Lanka, the best quality of opal produced here, with honey yellow, light bands with three lines as a special treasure, because it looks like a cat's eye, noble and mysterious.
Narim Alexandrite
—Naleem Alexandrite—
Found in a mine in the Ratnapura region of Sri Lanka, Narim Alexandrite weighs 112.82 carats and is currently the largest alexandrite in the world. Alexandrite has a discoloration effect and is also known as "emerald by day, ruby by night". This Narim Alexandrite was named after the late Haji Mohamed Naleem, a famous Sri Lankan gem merchant.
After reading Xiao Ha's introduction, at this moment is not more aware of Sri Lanka's important position in the gem industry, and now with the declaration of bankruptcy of this "gem country", the jewelry circle is also restless, the world's important sapphire supply chain is deeply affected, resulting in the intensification of the contradiction between supply and demand in the market, under the market law of rarity, sapphire prices have shown an upward momentum, many jewelry import and export business stagnated, and the rare variety of colored gemstones will also become strange goods.
Perhaps in the short term, there will be some turbulence in the gem market. Xiao Ha also reminds everyone here not to blindly follow the trend of buying gems because of price rises and falls
Finally, I hope that Sri Lanka will get through the crisis as soon as possible, and when tourism resumes, let's go to this beautiful country to start a romantic gem journey
Edit: Serena | Visual & Graphics: Amy
Image: From the brand (some from the web)
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