Sapphires From Sri Lanka

Historically, the finest Sapphire gems came from Sri Lanka and Burma, and this same is pretty much still true today.

Sri Lanka, nicknamed the ‘’Gem Island, ‘’ has been an important source for natural untreated sapphires, rubies, and other gemstones for more than 2000 years.

The stones that have been eroded from Sri Lanka’s central mountains are still plucked by hand from gravel deposits that cover most of the southern half of the island.

Sapphires from Sri Lanka are typically light to medium blue, and can weigh up to several hundred carats.

The National Gem Collection, which is housed in the Smithsonian Museum in Washington D.C., is home to one of the largest fine blue sapphire gems from Sri Lanka known as The Logan Sapphire which weighs 422.99 carats.

It is the heaviest mounted gem in the National Gem Collection and is framed in a brooch setting surrounded by 20 round brilliant cut diamonds totaling 16 carats in weight.

This beautiful piece of sapphire jewelry was a gift to the Smithsonian Institute from Mrs. John A. Logan in 1960.