|
RC, in November 2006 at the gem market in Ratnapura,
viewing a tourmaline crystal in calcite matrix. |
November 2006. RC examines a gorgeous, perfectly
terminated, unheated blue sapphire crystal at the Ratnapura gem market.
Usually a perfect crystal like this is never faceted or heat treated and
sold "as is" to collectors for high prices.
|
A Sri Lankan "dare devil".
Three-wheels and motorcycles are
great means to go places in Sri Lanka.
|
Ratnapura countryside. During November &
December, in this
interior part of the country, it is sunny in the morning, then it gets
cloudy in the afternoon with rainy evenings and part of the night. |
|
Left. A beautiful, painted mural at the shop of our miner
friend. It portraits the river mining, gravel washing and cutting process
that Sri Lankans have used and are still using nowadays since antiquity. Middle. RC louping a parcel of yellow sapphires. Right.
A colorful example of Sri Lankan gemstones that are not sapphires. |
|
Main Street in Ratnapura. Ratnapura translates as the "City of Gems". |
Ratnapura street
|
Morning 10:00 AM of every day. Hundreds of people gather to trade gem rough in
Ratnapura. |
A piece of white sapphire rough. |
|
Lush vegetation nearby a gem mine outside Ratnapura. |
Looking down into a mine pit. Usually these pits are
50-60 feet deep. The temperature at the mine site is around 45 degrees
Celsius,
extremely hot and humid. |
Gem gravel washing at the river banks. These methods
have remained unvaried since the beginning. |
Women from a nearby village come to get rubber wood, at
the mine site for domestic purposes. |
|
Girls carrying rubber wood remains back to the village. |
Mine worker. Sri Lankans always smile... |
RC starting descending a mine pit. A very cool change is
experienced in descending the pit. |
Mine workers stuffing the walls of a new mine shaft with "Kakille"
(not sure about the spelling), a bush-like tree. |
