ලොව දුර්ලභම මිල අධිකම මැණික් වලින් හතරවන තැන ලංකාවෙන් ලැබෙන දුර්ලභ මැණික් වෙන ක්රමවලින් රට යවනවා අපි ජීවත්වන්නේ මහා ධන නිධානයක් උඩ යැයි නිතර කියන කතාවකි. නමුත් ඒ මහා ධන නිධානයේ අංශුමාත්රයකවත් ගොඩ දමා ගත හැකි අයෙක් වේ නම් ඔහු වාසනාවන්තයෙකි. ඔහු නිතැතින්ම උපන් භූමියේ උරුමකරුවෙකි…
The fourth most expensive gem in the world
Rare gems from Sri Lanka are exported to the country through other means
It is often said that we live on a great treasure trove. But if someone can dig up even a fraction of that great treasure trove, he is lucky. He is naturally an heir to the land where he was born. We are going to tell you about a young Sri Lankan who dug up a fraction of that great treasure trove. He is a rare gem explorer, Sampath Gajanatha.
Sampath Gajanatha has now reaped the true fruits of his extensive knowledge of rare gems. This rare gem explorer, whom we met by chance, says that 95 percent of the world's most expensive and rare gems can be found in our motherland. Meanwhile, we learned that he owned a 3.42 carat gem called ‘Gandidiorite’, which is the fourth rarest gem in the world. We went to find him. We listened to his story as if it were a mouse. He told us about the birth of the earth, the formation of rocks, the formation of gems from metamorphic rocks, the formation of soil and deep cosmic gravity centers and extremely complex natural phenomena that we had not heard of on our land in Sri Lanka, surprising us.
“I came across this extremely rare and valuable gem through a friend of mine in the Okkampitiya area.” This is how he began our story.
Sampath Gajanatha
Although it is actually as small as a particle among the mineral resources of this country, its value is greater than a great many. Sampath Gajanayake's Gandidirite gem is even more valuable, although there are one hundred and ninety-five countries in the world, such a gem, which has inherited the deep gravity of the universe with high quality and quality, has been found in only a very limited number of countries in the world. Among them, Sri Lanka and Madagascar are at the top.
In addition, small-sized Gandidirite gems have been found in countries such as India, America, Canada, the United Kingdom, South Africa, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Germany, etc. But so far, Gandidirite of high quality and value has been found only in Sri Lanka and Madagascar. And that too is very small.
In Sri Lankan history, it has been officially reported that such a gem has been found only once. That was 27 years ago, in the year 1999. That gem was also found in the Okkampitiya area.
The first gem to America
The gem, which was a 0.29 carat stone, was purchased by the United States for $5,000. This alone can be understood as the value of this gem. Foreign reports confirm that this rare gem is owned by many famous businessmen, actors and actresses, and all the other famous people in the world. In public auctions around the world, this rare gem is pursued by very famous people because it has the rarest attraction in the universe…
In addition, it is reported that several small stones that can be suspected of being Gandidiolite, although not officially registered with the Gem and Jewelry Authority, have been exported.
Sampath Gajanatha, the owner of the Gandidiolite gem, who is our current protagonist, has extensive knowledge of gemology. He is also well-versed not only in the rare gems available in this country but also in the types of gems available around the world, as well as their origin. He is very knowledgeable about the rare things that are created in the ocean and deep seabed.
He first realized that the gem he received was a Gandidierite gem, which he described as a different type of gem, due to his knowledge.
This gem expert, whom we met the other day, began this wonderful conversation about this extremely rare and highly valuable object he had found. This gem explorer with excellent knowledge began to turn his words around in front of us as his ideas.
“This stone came to me like this. I have a dear younger brother named Thilina. He and I both buy stones that are dug up from mines by paying money. We go to the mines. He said, Sampath Aiya, let’s see if there is a stone. I turned on the torch and looked. Experience is the degree that passes through our knowledge..
In my history, I had never touched a Gandidierite stone. But I knew about the minerals found in an area called Utah in America during my study of pinakite and red beryl. I had also studied and heard about a rare Gandidierite stone found in the Okkampitiya area of Sri Lanka. In the year 1902, a French explorer named Alfred Gandidier found this stone in Madagascar.
That was the first Gandidierite gem found on our planet.
After that, our Sri Lanka, where the best gems in the world are found, A 0.29 carat Devanagandidiorite gem was found in the Okkampitiya area of Sri Lanka in 1999. It has been published in magazines and all institutions around the world. The National Gem and Jewelry Authority of Sri Lanka has presented research in previous reports. So
Gemstones of the World
Certificate from the Colombo Institute of Gemology
This gandiorite is created by the mineral niso silicate in boro silicate. Its hardness is 7.5. Its refractive index value is 1.583-1.639. The special thing about this is that as far as I know, this is the only gem whose absorption spectrum is stated as 479 nanometers. The blue color is affected by the ferrous chemical ion and the green color is affected by the chemical chromium.
The Gemological Institute of America, the world's best research institute, announced this extremely rare The unique gem called Gandidirite is the fourth most precious gemstone in the world. Because of its value and rarity, the world's famous explorers/billionaires/heirs of huge properties/famous singers, actors, actresses and businessmen ask for the highest price at international auctions to own it.
When you give this stone to any gemologist, they think it is a serendipitous gem. Serendipitous is also an extremely rare gem found on our earth. No one can imagine what kind of gem it is. No matter how close you are to gems, you cannot immediately tell what it is when you see some stones. Sometimes you can even throw a black stone and call it a black stone. If you throw it, it is a serendipitous stone. That is luck. There is also a story that if you hear the footsteps of the gem, you will pick it up. That is how luck should be with everything. Then Thashak Ruchadara would buy it. That's how this stone came into my hands.
How luck works
The gem business depends on trust and luck. Sometimes a gem worth crores can be sold for a lower price as a gem of another type. No one is perfect in this business. No one has reached the top in gemology. There are more than 5500 types of minerals in the world. Of these, only about 3500 have been discovered and confirmed. Some of them are still at the research stage. Let me give you a good example. If we take the type of stone called garnet sold in gem markets like Paththakade, Haraniyawaka, Ratnapura Amba Gahayata/Alahera, there are 25 types of stones. Hessonite, Rhodolite, Mozambique, Malaya, Malawi/Pyrope/Leuko/Spessatite are some of them. The type called blue garnet is extremely rare. Leuco Rare… Meanwhile, there are stones that change color like pasingal. They are rare. The type of stone called garnet is mostly found in Kamburupitiya, Matara. For example, a moneylender in a mine brings a lot of stones and asks for a price for that lot of stones. Even though he knows the amount, he does not know exactly what type of stone each one is. I check and buy those stones for an amount that both of us agree on. Let's say that amount is 8000 rupees. When those stones are brought and further examined, if one or two of them change color, one stone can be sold for 118,000 rupees. Because color change is expensive.
The relevant gem and its quantity
The type of stone called Oya Malaya is found only in the northern valleys of the Umba River in Tanzania and Kenya. Thashak or Othakha or whatever Until the lab report comes, none of us know exactly what type of stone this is. That's the gem industry.”
He explained how we got this precious gem and the nature of the gem industry in a wonderful way. We interrupted him a little and asked him how the gem industry was documented. We directed that question to him because it would be of some help to an amateur who is about to enter the gem industry.
“I did my A/L in 2008. It was in the agriculture stream. After that, I did various things related to the earth. I conducted various researches on soil. I researched minerals. I wrote books about it. I started researching the sea. I have a great interest in it. It was through you that I got involved in the gem industry. It was in 2021 that I first got my license as a sales agent. I have been working as an authorized sales agent until now.”
He also spoke about the market value of such rare gems.
“Many wealthy people in the world are very keen to own a collection of such rare gems. This type of gem is the fourth rarest gem in the world. Having such a gem in your possession means great fame and increases your cosmic power immensely. Not everyone can achieve that fame. And not everyone gets that type of gem.
The process of selling such an extremely rare gem is not easy. Gajanatha also has a lot of knowledge about it.
“I have obtained the G. I. C. certificate for this gem. But if this stone is presented at an international gem auction, I need to obtain the G. I. A. (Gemmological Institute of America) certificate. That will cost us more than $ 35,000. I have to go to America with the gem. Otherwise, I have to go to Thailand. But no one does that at that cost. That is why the presentation of gems to the world has become limited… because it is difficult to do so. To present at an auction, you need to put down a deposit of 60 million… That is the situation at the auctions of international billionaires. But in a country like ours, no one can do that. That is why today, many rare gems found in Sri Lanka are not presented to the world and are sold to buyers through other means. That is what causes the country to lose a lot of money as well as the reputation it could have gained.” Because we are in a country where gems are found even in the middle of nowhere. There are people who have received a lot of requests for their hair. This is a very lucky country. That is how he ended our story.
Sameera Kannangara