National Gem & Jewellery Authority

Sri Lanka has already made a unique contribution to the Prince William’s big day! The 12 Carat oval Blue Sapphire at the center of the engagement ring given to Kate Middleton originally came from Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka Blue Sapphire’s have been well-known for many generations for its natural color and luster. And it is the Sri Lanka’s Gem Supreme and the finest in the world. This precious gem has a high clarity transparency and saturation of color which is a hall mark of an excellent Blue Sapphire.

Queen Elizabeth mesmerized by Sri Lankan Gems. Flanked by Mr. D. A. S. Wijeratne

and Mr. Nowfel S. Jabir.

The Sri Lankan Blue Sapphire glows in the universe due to the Royal Marriage of the Century. This glamorous Blue Sapphire and Diamond Cluster was the engagement ring of the striking and admirable couple Prince William and Kate Middleton.

There has been a long tradition of Sri Lankan gems being sought out for the jewellery of Royalty in the world. Legend says that King Solomon in Biblical times wooed the Queen of Sheba with precious stones from this ‘Paradise Isle’. Soloman has sent his emissaries to the City of Gems in the orient (Ratnarura in Sri Lanka) to procure the gems that won him the hand and then heart of the Queen.

The St. Edward’s Sapphire which is set in a Maltese Cross at the top of the imperial Crown of State now worn by the Queen of England, Elizabeth 2, also traces its origin to Sri Lanka.

Royal Crown

Wholesale and retail gem merchants and Jewelleres in the UK have reported a marked increase in demand for sapphire rings. And the National Gem & Jewellery Authority is receiving large numbers of inquiries from a cross section of the global market. The UK already is positioned amongst the top fifteen buyers of Sri Lankan gems and is poised to procure even more of fine equality sapphires from Sri Lanka, for the mutual benefit of economies of both countries.