Sourcing Sapphires in Ratnapura, Sri Lanka

After diamonds, sapphires are the most popular gemstone to use in fine jewellery designs. Maybe it’s the rich and remarkable colours they display, or maybe it’s the fact that they’re durable and resilient (scoring a whooping 9.0 on the Mohs hardness scale), but either way, sapphires are the perfect centre stone for any engagement ring.

Contrary to what you might think about this gem, there are dozens more options than just a blue sapphire. The earth gives us sapphires in almost any colour imaginable: from deep indigo to cornflower blue, black and white, sage green, purple, hot pink, and every colour in between. A yellow sapphire alone can range from bright canary to pale champagne.

Sapphires are found in various regions of the world, but a Sri Lankan sapphire is known to be the highest quality gemstone around. In this South Asian country off the south east coast of India, you can find sapphires with a natural richness in colour that can’t be found anywhere else, as most other sapphires undergo a heat-treatment process in order to enhance their natural colour.

Sri Lanka is famous for being one of the best sources not just for blue sapphires (such as the world famous Ceylon sapphire), but for the rare orange-pink Padparadscha sapphire made famous by this very region. The Padparadscha sapphire is in fact the rarest of all sapphire varieties.

You can look at hundreds of gemstone options, but most people will tell you that the right gemstone will call to you. You simply know it when you see it.

To find the perfect gemstone, we use a variety of sources and methods to secure the highest quality gem and cut for different ring designs. As we focus on creating bespoke rings, sometimes this entails seeking a specific cut of a gem, known in the industry as a ‘fancy’ cut. Our customers seek a unique product and come to us to capture their stories, so it’s our job to actualise their ideas with a bespoke design or a rare custom-cut gemstone.

In this article, we look at the background of the mining industry in Sri Lanka, the process of mining, and how one of our sapphire suppliers comes to procure gemstones for sapphire engagement rings.

Sri Lanka is known as the “Jewel Box” or “Treasure Island” of the Indian Ocean, with over 25% of total land mass thought filled with precious gemstones. At the heart of the country is the city of Ratnapura, a Sanskrit word for “the city of gems”, known for being a hub of miners, traders, and exporters. A yellow sapphire, pink sapphire, ceylon blue sapphire or Padparadscha sapphire will more often than not be the best in its class.

In Ratnapura, sapphire mining is still conducted in many traditional ways, relying far less on mass production infrastructure compared to other sapphire regions making it known for its sustainability. In Sri Lankan culture, gemstones are seen as gifts from the gods and mining areas are considered sacred. Maneesha has shared with us first hand the ways that workers perform prayers and rituals before beginning work, as a way of paying their respects to the environment. Sri Lanka has strong policies to protect both workers and the environment. You can read more about Sri Lanka’s jewellery industry here.

The government actively makes sure that the local community benefits from the industry. The land is owned by the government and rented by the miners and investors to ensure that the land is protected from privatization and development for housing or farmland.

The sustainable, traditional mining techniques used by the workers ensures that the land is protected. Once a mine is exhausted of Sri Lankan sapphires, the miners simply fill the excavated areas with earth again, ready for plants to grow back over. The traditional mining methods also ensure that miners can live in close proximity to the mines while maintaining a good quality of living.

The government actively makes sure that the local community benefits from the industry. The land is owned by the government and rented by the miners and investors to ensure that the land is protected from privatization and development for housing or farmland.

The sustainable, traditional mining techniques used by the workers ensures that the land is protected. Once a mine is exhausted of Sri Lankan sapphires, the miners simply fill the excavated areas with earth again, ready for plants to grow back over. The traditional mining methods also ensure that miners can live in close proximity to the mines while maintaining a good quality of living.

One of our design consultants, Emily, had the opportunity to visit Ratnapura in Sri Lanka. She went to see the mines, and our Gemstone Buyer, Maneesha.

Maneesha is a truly special leader within Taylor & Hart. Not only does she oversee an entirely female team of gemstone experts, she is the only woman gemstone dealer in Sri Lanka, having broken her way into the male-dominated industry.

Maneesha purchases both rough stones and cut and polished stones. As an exporter, she connects the miners & investors with customers globally. Most of the sapphires she purchases are from the Ratnapura region, however she does purchase some sapphires from around the globe, for example, in Madagascar or Montana, as sapphires from these regions have hues not available in Sri Lanka. For an exporter, it is important to be able to give your international customers options as every yellow, pink, or blue sapphire engagement ring will always be unique, even if in subtle ways.