Sri Lanka's most comprehensive private museum housing Ceylon gems and minerals in a heritage building. Discover the beauty of natural gemstones from the heart of Sri Lanka.
Explore Our Collection Contact Us
A journey through gems, education, and Sri Lankan heritage
Founded by Mr. Shaminda Arthanayake and opened on June 1, 2011, Aakarsha Gem House has grown into Sri Lanka's premier destination for gem enthusiasts, collectors, and traders from around the world.
Our facility demonstrates the complete gemstone journey across four stages: formation, mining and extraction, gem and sapphire cutting, and trading. We serve an international clientele from Europe, USA, UK, Australia, Russia, Thailand, Japan, and China.
Our handcrafted jewelry collection features white diamonds, colored diamonds, blue sapphires, star sapphires, rubies, star rubies, and white sapphires — all sourced from the rich gem-bearing soils of Sri Lanka.
Discover our stunning display of gemstones and extensive jewelry collection
Our showroom houses a variety of gemstones and a huge collection of jewelry. Our knowledgeable staff will guide you through the selection process, helping you find the perfect gemstone or piece of jewelry.
Our retail location features a curated collection of gems and jewelry, carefully selected for quality and value. Whether you're a collector, jeweler, or looking for a special gift, our sale centre has something extraordinary for you.
For professionals and geology enthusiasts
We organize specialized tours for professionals and geology enthusiasts, including visits to mining areas where visitors can buy rough stones below market prices. Experience the thrill of seeing gemstones extracted from the earth firsthand.
Explore what we offer at Aakarsha Gem House
Sri Lanka's most comprehensive private museum showcasing Ceylon gems and minerals. Free admission for foreign passport holders.
Browse our stunning display of gemstones and extensive jewelry collection. Our knowledgeable staff will guide you through the selection process.
Organized tours for professionals and geology enthusiasts, including visits to mining areas where you can buy rough stones below market prices.
Learn about gemstone formation, crystal structures, optical properties, and the complete process from mining to finished jewelry.
Witness the art of lapidary — from faceting transparent stones to cabochon cutting for opaque specimens — demonstrated live at our facility.
We serve clients across Europe, USA, UK, Australia, Russia, Thailand, Japan, and China with certified, ethically sourced gemstones.
Buy rare gemstones and minerals at reasonable prices
Learn about the techniques used to extract precious gemstones
Uses pressurized water jets to dislodge rock material. Discontinued post-1960s due to environmental concerns.
Traditional placer mining using gravity separation to isolate gemstones from river sediment.
Systematic layer removal for accessing shallow gem deposits near the surface.
Sequential trenching with material redistribution, used for horizontal gem-bearing layers.
Blasting mountain summits for deposit access, used for specific geological formations.
Rock extraction technique used for multiple end uses including gemstone recovery.
Deep drilling with high-pressure water circulation to extract gems from deep deposits.
Horizontal tunnel extraction from hillsides, following the gem-bearing seam.
Vertical tunnel systems with dual access points for deep underground gem extraction.
Angled shaft mining used when vertical shafts are not feasible for the terrain.
Deep multi-floor underground operations, considered the most challenging mining method.
Explore the fascinating world of gemmology
Gemstones form deep within the Earth's crust under extreme heat and pressure over millions of years. Understanding the geological processes behind gemstone formation helps appreciate their rarity and beauty.
The three main rock types — sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic — each produce different varieties of precious and semi-precious stones.
Minerals are naturally occurring, inorganic solids with a definite chemical composition and an ordered atomic arrangement. They form the building blocks of rocks and gemstones.
Fluorite
Sulphur
Smoky Quartz
Silicate Structure
Crystals are solid materials in which the atoms are arranged in regular geometrical patterns. The seven crystal systems are organized by their axes of symmetry, each producing distinctive and beautiful formations.
The color of a gemstone is determined by how it absorbs and reflects light. Idiochromatic minerals derive their color from elements essential to their structure, while allochromatic minerals get their color from trace impurities such as chromium (red in rubies, green in emeralds), iron (blue in sapphires), titanium, manganese, and copper.
Light Absorption
Idiochromatic Mineral
Citrine
Light Dispersion
A gemstone must possess beauty, durability, and rarity. The finest gems display exceptional color, clarity, and optical effects that set them apart from ordinary minerals.
Gem Quality
Gem Colors
Faceted Ruby
Multi-colored Gems
Corundum Varieties
Bi-colored Ametrine
Dispersion creates the "fire" or sparkle seen in diamonds and other gems. Iridescence, chatoyancy (cat's eye effect), and asterism (star effect) are other fascinating optical phenomena found in gemstones.
The art of lapidary — transforming rough stones into brilliant gems
The lapidary arts include faceting transparent stones to maximize brilliance and cabochon cutting for opaque specimens to display optical effects. The four-step rock polishing process uses progressively finer grits: 80-grit, 220-grit, 400-grit silicon carbide, and cerium oxide finishing.
Cutting & Polishing
Rock Crystal Carving
Crown Facets
Faceting Pattern
Faceted Gemstone
Polished Gem
Precision Cut
Lapidary Art
Understanding mineral hardness — Diamond is 140 times harder than Corundum
To share and spread the love of gemmology through education and to be a leader in gemmology in Sri Lanka. We strive to inspire the next generation of gem enthusiasts and preserve Sri Lanka's rich gemological heritage.
To create a cohesive platform for learning where gem enthusiasts can exchange knowledge, experience the wonder of natural gemstones, and appreciate the art and science behind every precious stone.
Browse our curated collection of certified Ceylon gemstones
