Gems of Sri Lanka
Traditional Gem Fields of Sri Lanka
Persian traders that crossed the Indian Ocean
to trade gems from Sri Lanka to the East during the 4th and 5th century. Often the historical word "Ceylon" is used within gem industries to denote stones that come from the island.
Sri Lanka, geologically speaking is an extremely old country. Ninety percent of the rocks of the island are of
eluvial deposits, metamorphic deposits, skarn and calcium-rich rocks. Nearly all the gem formations in Sri Lanka are located in the central high-grade metamorphic terrain of the Highland Complex. The gem deposits are classified as sedimentary, metamorphic and magmatic; the sedimentary types being the most abundant. The mineralogy of the gem deposits varies widely with, among others, corundum (sapphire, ruby), chrysoberyl, beryl, spinel, topaz, zircon, tourmaline, garnet being common.[2]
Residual deposits are mainly found in flood plains of rivers and streams. The metamorphic types of gems constitute 90% of the gem deposits in Sri Lanka. It has been estimated that nearly 25% of the total land area of Sri Lanka is potentially gem-bearing, making Sri Lanka one of the countries with the highest density of gem deposits compared to its landmass.[3][4]
Ratnapura contains the most gem deposits and derived its name from the gem industry. Ratnapura means “city of gems”.
References
- ^ Marco Polo, John Pinkerton. Voyages and Travels of Marco Polo. Cassell. p. 152. Retrieved 17 March 2008.
- ^ DISSANAYAKE, C.B., CHANDRAJITH, ROHANA and TOBSCHALL, H.J. 2000. The geology, mineralogy and rare element geochemistry of the gem deposits of Sri Lanka. Bulletin of the Geological Society of Finland 72, Parts 1– 2, 5–20.
- ^ Dissanayake, C.B. 1991. Gem deposits of Sri Lanka – Prospector’s guide map. Export Development Board, Sri Lanka.
- ^ Dissanayake, C.B. & Rupasinghe, M.S. 1993. A prospector’s guide map of the gem deposits of Sri Lanka. Gems and Gemmology 29, 173–181.
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