It was December of 2021. In the city of Ratnapura, 45 kms South of Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka, someone was digging a hole. The purpose of digging was to make a well. But no one was ready what was about to come instead of water. It was the largest natural mineral corundum blue sapphire stone! Queen of Asia. Yes, that’s what we call it.
The town’s name Ratnapura also quite fittingly translates to City of Gems. It holds the largest deposits of precious and semi-precious stones in Sri-Lanka. But this discovery brought this obscure town to the world map.
The story goes like this. A worker set out to dig a well as per the instruction of the land owner. However, after digging a few feet he struck something really hard and heavy. So, he informed the employer who inspected the site.
The employer probably had some history with gemstones. So, he concluded it’s no ordinary stone. Soon, officials from the Gemological Institute of Ratnapura visited the site and conducted an examination. They confirmed that the stone has a silky blue appearance, indicating that the stone is a blue sapphire. The stone weighs a whopping 310 kilograms (1,600,000 carats) and subsequently named the Queen of Asia.
While International organizations were still to certify the precious stone, Sri Lanka’s National Gem and Jewelry Authority released a statement. It said “To our knowledge, this specimen is indeed a rare specimen and not recorded in the geological literature,”
Based on several factors, the price of blue sapphires can usually vary from $500 to $1,600 per carat. But in exceptional cases it can go beyond this range.
The Institute’s president Chamila Suranga said that the Queen of Asia could be worth more than $100 million. The institute is currently considering potential buyers including museums and wealthy private collectors in the Middle East.
The Sri-Lankan Sapphire trade dates back to the 4th century A.D… The Ceylon Sapphire was then famous in the international markets for its lustrous blue color. A year prior to 2021, Sri Lanka earned around half a billion dollars through the export of gemstones, diamonds and jewelry. While the pandemic slowed down the gem trade, Sri Lankans made two gigantic discoveries. Aside from the Queen of Asia, the world’s largest Sapphire cluster was also unearthed in Sri Lanka earlier in 2021.
Like everyone else, we are also waiting to see what the real value of the Queen of Asia turns out to be and how it shapes up when cut & polished.
Now if you’re looking for sapphire jewelry for your queen, check out the collection of natural & lab-made sapphires at GemsNY.
