3 Little Known Gemstones found in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka is renown for the sheer length and breadth of gem stones found there. While the stunning Blue Sapphire reigns supreme among the precious stones in this country, there are a large number of stunning semi-precious stones in Sri Lankan soil too. 

The following rare and lesser known stones were recently celebrated in a series of stamps issued in 2021.

Taaffeite

Taaffeite is considered to be one of the rarest gemstone minerals in the world. It was named after the Austrian gemmolosit Richard Taaffe, who came across it as a cut and polished stone in Dublin, in 1945. This is also considered the first gem to be initially identified from an already faceted stone. Previous versions of the gem have been mistaken for spinel, which is very similar in its chemical composition. 

Subsequent chemical and x-ray analysis confirmed that the main components of taaffeite are beryllium (also found in emeralds and aquamarines), magnesium and aluminium. 

There tends to be confusion between spinel and taaffeite due to it's structural similarities. However, unlike spinel, taaffeite can be distinguished based on it's double refraction property. 

This is an extremely rare mineral, and is found in alluvial (a type of soil which consists of earth and sand left behind upon a land where once a river flowed) deposits in Sri Lanka and Tanzania. A lower grade taaffeite is found in limestone sediments in China. 

Taaffeite can be pink, mauve or lilac, or be a reddish or brownish transparent. It also occurs as colourless, purple, greenish, violet or bluish. Because of its distinction as being one of the rarest minerals on earth, taaffeite is used exclusively in the gem industry. 

Spinel

Spinel is also found in the gemstone bearing gravel in Sri Lanka as well as in Myanmar, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kenya and Tanzania. The composition of this gem is Magnesium and Aluminium. They occur in a wide variety of colours, but usually in shades of red, lavender, blue, green, brown or yellow. Many spinels from Sri Lanka are black, but the rare cobaltian variety is unique to the island. 

The 500 carat Samarian spinel is the largest ever found, while two spinels, the Black Prince's Ruby and the Timur Ruby are both part of the British Crown Jewels. 

Spinels have been used in jewellry for many centuries, often having been mistaken as corundums, especially rubies. Yet they remain popular for the same purpose today, given their strength and suitability for most settings and their comparatively lower cost. 

Sinhalite

Sinhalite was first found in Sri Lanka in 1952 and was named after the sanskrit name of the island. They are considered to be a rather rare gems, often found as small rough stones in Tanzania, Myanmar and Madagascar. 

Curiously though, sinhalites in Sri Lanka are found in rough pebble form and are often quite large, at 100 carats or more. The largest known sinhalite was found in Sri Lanka and it clocks in at 252 carats. 

These stones take on yellowish, yellow-brown, dark brown, greenish-brown, light pink and brownish-pink hues. It shares chemical similarities with peridot, chrysoberyl and zircon and is often mistaken for these stones. 

Due to it's rarity, Sinhalites are also mainly used in jewellery manufacturing. 

Topaz and Zircon are other semi precious stones that are frequently found in Sri Lanka, but these can hardly be called elusive. 

** All stamps and photographs used in this post are part of this author's personal collection.

References: 

International Gem Society

Jewels For Me

Wikipedia