"Besides blue sapphire and ruby, the corundum family also includes so-called “fancy sapphires.” They come in violet, green, yellow, orange, pink, purple, and intermediate hues. Ceylon Blue Sapphires. So, a top quality sapphire from Ceylon can easily sell for more than a mediocre Kashmir stone. Sapphire Color Range. The US$ 500,000 piece is an oval cut, 12-carat Ceylon Sapphire - of a particularly vivid shade of Cornflower Blue. According to historical accounts, Ceylon was already known for sapphires by the 2nd century A.D. and there was an active international trade in Ceylon gems by the 4th and 5th century. colors other than blue, including the famous orange-pink “Padparadscha” color. Kate Middleton wears a blue Ceylon Sapphire engagement ring, which Prince William famously exchanged to seal his love for her. Blue sapphire was declared as the national gemstone of Sri Lanka in 2003. Sapphires are a variety of the mineral corundum as are the equally famous and valuable Rubies. Today sapphire mining in Sri Lanka employs about 100,000 people and is a seasonal industry. Rubies make up the red side of the family while Sapphires are all the other colors - the famous blue as well as pink, green, purple, orange and yellow. Rubies make up the red side of the family while Sapphires are all the other colors - the famous blue as well as pink, green, purple, orange and yellow. The below Radiant mix 70.00 ct + loupe clean unheated cornflower blue Ceylon Sapphire is one of a kind gemstone that was mined in the gem city of Ratnapura, Sri Lanka a few months back in the year 2013. Ceylon sapphires are thought to be a product of the Pan-African orogeny,  which was a series of tectono-thermal events occurring 450 - 750 million years ago.
Our mine access and trading via the most direct and lean supply chain “mind to market” without middlemen, gives us the best quality-price-ratio and guarantees our fair trade approach for our Ceylon sapphires. Marco Polo wrote that the island had the best sapphires, topazes, amethysts, and other gems in the world. Sri Lanka is best known for its large, exceptional sapphire & star sapphires.

Rough sapphire from the Elahera region is reputed to be the best of quality while new rich deposits were found in the Kataragama klippe in the Thammannawa, Kataragama area. Sapphires are mined all over the world. Occassionally, people will wrongly describe sapphires from other origins as being ceylon because the ceylon blue is the most sought after color in sapphire. Rio Gems carries only sapphires from Sri Lanka which are known as Ceylon Sapphires. This plate movement created ideal conditions for the creation of gemstones all across Kenya, Mozambique, Madagascar, and Sri Lanka. The iconic gem was picked out by the late Princess Diana of Wales for her own engagement in 1981.