When the Creative Director of a leading London boutique contacted Premium Gems Lanka, the brief was deceptively simple but geologically daunting: “Find us six matched, unheated Star Rubies with centered asterism and vivid pinkish-red saturation for a bespoke Victorian-inspired suite.”
In the gemstone world, finding a single high-quality Star Ruby is rare. Finding a matched suite—where the “stars” move in unison and the body colours align—is an exercise in extreme patience and ground-level access.
The Challenge: The “Ghost” of the Corundum Family
Unlike faceted rubies, a Star Ruby relies on dense, microscopic inclusions of rutile (known as “silk”). For a “star” to be investment-grade, the silk must be perfectly aligned to create a sharp, six-rayed asterism that “dances” across the surface when moved.
- The Matching Hurdle: Because each star is a unique “thumbprint” of nature, matching the intensity and legibility of the rays across multiple stones is one of the hardest tasks in a gemologist’s career.
The Process: From the Gravels of Ratnapura to the Vaults of London
Our sourcing team spent eight weeks in the Ratnapura region, vetting “rough” and semi-polished cabochons directly from artisanal miners.
- Direct Sourcing: We bypassed the traditional middle-market auctions to inspect stones in natural daylight—the only way to truly gauge a star’s “legs” (the length of the rays).
- Precision Recutting: Three of the stones were “native cut.” To meet London’s strict symmetry standards, our master lapidaries performed precision recutting, ensuring the star was perfectly centered on each cabochon without losing critical carat weight.
- The “Audit” Phase: Before the stones left Sri Lanka, they were submitted to the NGJA (National Gem and Jewellery Authority) for final export valuation and the GIC for initial identification.
The Verdict from London
“Premium Gems Lanka didn’t just find us rubies; they found us a narrative. Their ability to provide 4K microscopic video of the ‘silk’ before we committed allowed us to present the options to our client with absolute confidence. The stones arrived in London via Malca-Amit, perfectly matched and ready for the bench. They are, quite simply, the best we’ve seen in a decade.” — Head of Sourcing, [Confidential London Jewelry House]
B2B Sourcing Built on Trust
For international jewelry houses, we act as an extension of their procurement team. By providing ground-level access, expert recutting, and ethical NGJA-cleared exports, we bridge the gap between the Sri Lankan mines and the world’s most demanding workshops.
Are you a jeweler or a private house looking for a specific suite of rarities? [Inquire About Our B2B Concierge Service] to discuss your project requirements with our head gemologist.
| Factor | What London Sourcing Looks For |
| Asterism (The Star) | Sharp, 6-ray, centered, and reaches the base of the cabochon. |
| Body Color | Vivid Pinkish-Red (typical of Ceylon) with no brownish secondary hues. |
| Transparency | Semi-transparent (rare) to translucent; never fully opaque. |
| Treatment | 100% Unheated. Heating often dissolves the “silk” that creates the star. |