Sapphires have a pretty unique shine to them which gives out a really royal and posh look. Sri Lanka, a small island in the Indian Ocean, has been a rich source of Sapphires of different colors and hues. The places bearing Ceylon Sapphires are Elahera, Kataragama, Rakwana, Bibile, Horana and many more.

Color and Quality:

Ceylon sapphires are found in many colors like blue, violet, purple, green and crimson red as well. The blue sapphires are light in color, the specimens are found which excel in that color. However, most sapphires are transparent and can be cut and polished into stones.

The quality of Ceylonese sapphires depends on their survival through the treatment. If the sapphire is strong enough to survive the heating process, they are of best quality, while the weak ones break in the process. There is no particular way to tell if the stone is heated or not; however, you can see some impurities which the heat removes.

Ceylonese Sapphire(star):

The Ceylon star sapphires are plenty in Sri Lanka. Some of which are a 392-carat star sapphire of Sri Lanka, 182-carat of star sapphire of Bombay, the star of India weighing 563.35 carat which is largest of its kind and many more. Ceylonese Star sapphires have a variety of colors such as blue, grey, white, and sometimes even yellow. 

Cut of Ceylonese Sapphire:

Sri Lankan gems are cut and polished in Sri Lanka itself by craftsmen. They sit outside the cottage or back alley and cut the sapphires on a small wooden wheel mounted at the end of a horizontal shaft which is rotated by a string bow. The bow is sawed forth and back. For polishing chamois leather pad is placed over the vertical lap and the stone is usually held in the hand.

Ottu and Ural Sapphires:

Ottu: The colloquial term Ottu means transparent sapphires with blur coloured dots.  The native craftsmen cut it in a manner that blue color in the pavilion, such that when it is seen from the top it looks blue, however, if seen from the sideways it looks transparent with the blue dot in the pavilion. This art requires mastery which is only possessed by native sapphire cutters of Ceylon. 

Ural: The colloquial term Ural means sapphire white sapphire or sapphire of another color with blue streaks in the middle. Gemologists name it as “parti-color sapphire” or “bi-color sapphire”

Geudas:

The term GEUDAS means semi-transparent or semi-translucent sapphire with a bit of haziness reflecting in the shiny light. Sri Lanka has the world’s largest reserves of Geudas that can be heat treated. When the sapphires are heat treated they change into yellow or blue color and it becomes more transparent.

Padparadscha Sapphire:

The Padparadscha sapphire is the mixture of something between pink and orange sapphire. Sri Lanka’s best gift to the world is Padparadscha sapphire. The rarest of Padparadscha sapphire is of the natural variety, aloof of beryllium and highly valued for their subtle blend of soft pink and orange hues. The name is derived from the Sinhalese word for lotus blossom. 

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Ceylon sapphire gemstone is pretty beautiful and unlike any other. These can be a part of any modern contemporary gemstone jewellery. At Jewelxy, use Gemoji to buy Gemstone jewellery in bulk from jewellery wholesalers or connect with Gemstone suppliers on the local and global level.