Sri Lankan Jewellery

Sri Lankan Jewellery

Sri Lanka has a long tradition in handmade jewellery - the skills of its jewellers are generally confined to a particular caste and the skills passed down from generation to generation.

Examples of Sri Lanka’s traditional jewellery include the beautifully handcrafted silver jewellery from the Kandy area.Today, as jewellery exports increase, a greater number of jewellers are creating cast jewellery - which is mass produced jewellery - aimed at the export market.Retailers: Gold manufacturers and retailers addressing the local market can be separated into two distinct consumer focus groups; domestic customers (mainly gold jewellery or pieces set with precious gemstones) and tourists (jewellery with precious and semi-precious gemstones).

The Domestic Market - demands mainly gold jewellery in traditional designs which are sold for weddings and special occasions. This segment is estimated at US$50 million in annual sales.

The Tourist Market - prefer gem-set jewellery in contemporary designs.

If you are looking to buy jewellery in Sri Lanka, you will not be disappointed because there's something for everyone. Glittering gold, sizzling platinum, white gold, white, black and golden pearls, diamonds and crystal - Sri Lankan consumers insist on the latest styles in jewellery.Gold is the perennial favourite and the best seller - many consumers use gold jewellery as a hedge against troubled times and inflation too. It is also the traditional choice for wedding jewellery and most of the gold jewellery sales in Sri Lanka are specifically for weddings and special occasions. Platinum is said to showcase certain gemstones, including diamonds, better than other metals. While it was a favorite in Sri Lanka in the 1950s and enjoyed a brief revival in the 1970s, platinum declined in popularity after that, due to other external factors. However today, it is back in fashion with many younger, more affluent customers asking for white metals, especially platinum.

White gold is 18-karat gold with the contents of the alloy changed to give the white color. Platinum is a high value, extremely hard and shiny metal, which actually costs about 50 percent more per gram than gold. It is highly prized in Japan and the United States, where the traditional favorite for wedding bands is platinum. Grades of platinum include Pt900, Pt950, and Pt995 - these grades show the amount of pure platinum in your jewellery.

Sri Lanka is also home to a vibrant silver jewellery industry - in the southern coast of the island, where many pieces are made for tourists as well as for export. In the Kandy area beautiful silver jewellery is made in very traditional styles, often with elaborate filigree work.

Background - The Old Testament mentions that King Solomon the Great received gifts from the Queen of Saba and among them, precious gems originating from what is now called Sri Lanka. Marco Polo, the most famous European traveler in medieval times, praises the beauty of Sri Lankan gems. Sri Lanka, which had been known before as Ceylon, Ceilan Taprobane, has always been connected to jewellery, mostly, however, as a resource for gemstones.
A gem cutting and jeweller industry, in historic times rather being a cottage industry, has been existing for a long time, long before we Europeans developed any industry.

Jewellery Industry - Since historic times the jewellery industry has developed considerably and today Sri Lanka has both a traditional jewellery industry and a export oriented industry prepared to work to supply the European market. Having contact with Europeans since about 500 years, the workmen and designers easily realize (and most of them speak or understand English) what especially the Europeans customers demand.

A comparatively high number of designers, now working mostly for the export markets and a good number of workers and gem setters trained by British and German goldsmith masters produce jewellery to provide western and Japanese markets.

Production Flexibility - While most other Asian production centers look to supply big numbers, the Sri Lankan jewellery manufacturers, mostly medium to smaller size, are very flexible in their production and prepared to provide smaller or medium size importers with a very flexible production range from a small to even a large number of goods.