Colombo, Sri Lanka (Commonwealth Union)_Sri Lanka’s longest running international gem and jewellery show, FACETS Sri Lanka Premier Edition concluded this week in Colombo having attracted over one hundred buyers and dealers from twenty countries. In the thirty years since FACETS was launched in Sri Lanka, this exhibition has been the most successful given that the country gained more than USD 10 million in orders and sales and had a footfall of an unprecedented five thousand over three days.
The exhibition held after a hiatus of three years given Sri Lanka’s repeated setbacks from the Easter attacks, pandemic and the economic crisis, the gem and jewellery industry made a courageous move to organise the show, signaling to the world of gems that Sri Lanka is open for business and as safe as any destination on its radar. This is the first international exhibition to be held in the country post crises. An underlying feature in organising the exhibition at this time was also the industry’s commitment to add to the depleted foreign exchange reserves of the country and position the gem and jewellery industry as a primary foreign exchange earner in the future.
Sri Lanka is home to the legendary Ceylon Sapphire, which has adorned the crown jewels of numerous European monarchy with a history dating back to ancient explorers, discoverers and traders who traversed the oceans and stopped by this pearl of the Indian Ocean to purchase gems of undisputed quality. That quality has been retained over centuries and having buyers and dealers visit from twenty countries reiterates the industry’s ability to deliver high-end quality demanded from these discerning buyers.
