1.SRILANKA:

Sri Lanka is a independent country located towards south of indian sub-continent. It is located as an island nation in the Indian Ocean. It became famous through the Hindu epic and mythology of Ramayana. The story tells that sita , the wife of rama was absconded by ravanasura and was hided in the land of lanka. It was called as lanka pura in those days and later in the year 1972 it was renamed as Ceylon. After year’s it was named as sri lanka with base of founding gems and gem mines, since then it was called srilanka. In the year 2009 after the internal conflicts within the nation. Under the leader ship of sri mahindra rajapakse then prime minister of srilanka has over hauled the situation and moved the economy into growth perspective leading to over all development of the country. The major back bone of the economy was agriculture , coffee , rubber ,sugar , transport and ports , diamonds and gems etc. For most of the foreign tourists it was a major hub for gem stones and tourism attractions.

Srilanka was known as ratna garbha in those yester years. It was famous since 6th centiury for his abundance of cultured gem stones and precious diamond’s. There are many evidences that since older centuries there were trade transactions conducted in this country.The world has recognised srilanka has major reserves of diamonds and gem stones than any other country in the world. The economical importance of gem stones that are available in srilanka based on the 4c’s in gemology and the shapes are only found in sri lanka and cannot be found in any other part of the world. This is one of the major notable points.

The major places places were the gem stones are found in the srilanka are , ambalpitiya, agalavatta , avissavella , badulla , bellamgoda ,dambulla , daniyayya , ihiliyagoda , ilahara , gole , horanna , kandi , ratnapura , rakavana and many more places in this gem country. There are about more than 7500 government approved mines based in sri lanka. There are more than 5000 secondary deposit mines, more than 2000 open pit mines and more than 500 alluviel deposit mines. Most valuable gem stones are available in these mines as a raw and rough shaped stones in different sizes , shapes and colours. Most of these gem stones are available between 5 meters and 25 meters in depth of the mines. But very rare stones are available only at 50 meters in depth of the mines.

From the capital of the srilanka (Colombo) towards the north side and with about 100 kilometres distance, there is a city called ratnapura. It is open n trading place for the gem stones since ages, therefore it is called ratnapura. There is a city centred place called clock tower. Since 5 am in the morning and till late, lots of transactions takes place in selling and buying gem stones. The traders open their shops in early hours for selling the rough stones. Mostly mixed colour rough gem stones. Due to the stones being rough and in natural stage, it not recommended buying them without clear knowledge or business acumen. Because we may not know until polishing and cutting the stone which colour of shape it turns into, therefore without any professional guidance and self knowledge it is not recommended to buy.

From the city of Colombo towards the south and almost 30 kilometres towards the south there is a place called beruwala which is internationally recognised as the gem hub. All the gemstones collected and bought from various parts of the places in srilanka are tested here and sold and exported internationally by traders of this place. The place called china fort is the major point for all these transactions. The trade mostly takes place between 8am to 3pm every day. These high level transactions take place between Wednesdays and Saturdays mostly. There are about more than 5000 big traders in this place, they perform high value transactions. This place has been recognised since 1024 year as the major global trade hub. It is noted that traders here give more respect and behave with absolute patience and integrity with clients. They conduct business with high level transparency. The highly selling gemstone here is fancy sapphire.

2.BANGKOK:

Bangkok is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon .The city occupies 1,568.7 square kilometres (605.7 sq mi) in the Chao Phraya River delta in Central Thailand, and has a population of over 8 million, or 12.6 percent of the country’s population. Over 14 million people (22.2 percent) live within the surrounding Bangkok, making Bangkok an extreme primate city, dwarfing Thailand’s other urban centres in terms of importance. Bangkok’s economy gradually expanded through international trade, first with China, then with Western merchants returning in the early-to-mid 19th century. As the capital, Bangkok was the centre of Siam’s modernization as it faced pressure from Western powers in the late 19th century.

3.LAO’S:

Laos ( Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao), officially the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (LPDR) (French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Myanmar (Burma) andChina to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south, and Thailand to the west. Since 1975, it has been ruled by a Marxist and communist government. Its population was estimated to be around 6.8 million in July 2014.

4.MYANMAR:

Myanmar officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar and also known as Burma, is a sovereign state in Southeast Asia bordered by Bangladesh, India, China, Laos and Thailand. One-third of Myanmar’s total perimeter of 1,930 km (1,200 miles) forms an uninterrupted coastline along the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman. The country’s 2014 census revealed a much lower population than expected, with 51 million people recorded. Myanmar is 676,578 square kilometres (261,227 sq mi) in size. Its capital city is Naypyidaw and its largest city is Yangon (Rangoon). For most of its independent years, the country has been engrossed in rampant ethnic strife and groups have been involved in one of the world’s longest-running ongoing civil wars. During this time, the United Nations and several other organisations have reported consistent and systematic human rights violations in the country. In 2011, the military was officially dissolved following a 2010 general election, and a nominally civilian government was installed. While former military leaders still wield enormous power in the country, Burmese Military have taken steps toward relinquishing control of the government. This, along with the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and political prisoners, has improved the country’s human rights record and foreign relations, and has led to the easing of trade and other economic sanctions. There is, however, continuing criticism of the government’s treatment of the Muslim Rohingya minority and its poor response to thereligious clashes.

Myanmar produces precious stones such as rubies, sapphires, pearls, and jade. Rubies are the biggest earner; 90% of the world’s rubies come from the country, whose red stones are prized for their purity and hue. Thailand buys the majority of the country’s gems. Myanmar’s “Valley of Rubies”, the mountainous Mogok area, 200 km (120 mi) north of Mandalay, is noted for its rare pigeon’s blood rubies and blue sapphires. Many US and European jewellery companies, including Bulgari, Tiffany, and Cartier, refuse to import these stones based on reports of deplorable working conditions in the mines. Human Rights Watch has encouraged a complete ban on the purchase of Burmese gems based on these reports and because nearly all profits go to the ruling junta, as the majority of mining activity in the country is government-run. The government of Myanmar controls the gem trade by direct ownership or by joint ventures with private owners of mines.

5.VIETNAM:

Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is the easternmost country on the Indo-china Peninsula in Southeast Asia. With an estimated 90.5 million inhabitants as of 2015, it is the world’s 13th-most-populous country, and the eighth-most-populous Asian country. The name Vietnam translates as “Southern Viet” (synonymous with the much older term Nam Viet); it was first officially adopted in 1802 by Emperor Gia Long, and was adopted again in 1945 with the founding of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam under Ho Chi Minh. The country is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, and Cambodia to the southwest, and Malaysia across the South China Sea to the southeast.[e] Its capital city has been Hanoi since the reunification of North and South Vietnam in 1975.

6.COMBODIA:

Cambodia officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia and once known as the Khmer Empire, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indo-china Peninsula in Southeast Asia. Its total landmass is 181,035 square kilometres (69,898 sq mi), bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the northeast, Vietnam to the east, and the Gulf of Thailand to the southwest. With a population of over 15 million, Cambodia is the 70th most populous country in the world. The official religion is Theravada Buddhism, practised by approximately 95 percent of the population. The country’s minority groups include Vietnamese, Chinese,Chams, and 30 hill tribes. The capital and largest city is Phnom Penh, the political, economic, and cultural centre of Cambodia. The kingdom is a constitutional monarchy with Norodom Sihamoni, a monarch chosen by the Royal Throne Council, as head of state. The head of government is Hun Sen, who is currently the longest serving non-royal leader in South East Asia and has ruled Cambodia for over 25 years.

7.MADAGASCAR:

Madagascar officially the Republic of Madagascar (French: République de Madagascar), and previously known as the Malagasy Republic, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of Southeast Africa. The nation comprises the island of Madagascar (the fourth-largest island in the world), as well as numerous smaller peripheral islands. Following the prehistoric breakup of the supercontinent Gondwana, Madagascar split from the Indian peninsula around 88 million years ago, allowing native plants and animals to evolve in relative isolation. Consequently, Madagascar is a biodiversity hotspot; over 90% of its wildlife is found nowhere else on Earth. The island’s diverse ecosystems and unique wildlife are threatened by the encroachment of the rapidly growing human population and other environmental threats. Madagascar’s natural resources include a variety of unprocessed agricultural and mineral resources. Key mineral resources include various types of precious and semi-precious stones, and Madagascar currently provides half of the world’s supply of sapphires, which were discovered near Ilakaka in the late 1990s. The island also holds one of the world’s largest reserves of ilmenite (titanium ore), as well as important reserves of chromite, coal, iron, cobalt, copper and nickel.