Related Research Articles
Sri Lanka, historically known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian peninsula by the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait. It shares a maritime border with the Maldives in the southwest and India in the northwest.
The mixed economy of Sri Lanka was worth $84 billion by nominal gross domestic product (GDP) in 2019 and $296.959 billion by purchasing power parity (PPP). The country had experienced an annual growth of 6.4 percent from 2003 to 2012, well above its regional peers. This growth was driven by the growth of non-tradable sectors, which the World Bank warned to be both unsustainable and unequitable. Growth has slowed since then. In 2019 with an income per capita of 13,620 PPP Dollars or 3,852 (2019) nominal US dollars, Sri Lanka was re-classified as a lower middle income nation with the population around 22 million (2021) by the World Bank from a previous upper middle income status.
Sapphire is a precious gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum, consisting of aluminium oxide (α-Al2O3) with trace amounts of elements such as iron, titanium, cobalt, lead, chromium, vanadium, magnesium, boron, and silicon. The name sapphire is derived from the Latin word sapphirus, itself from the Greek word sappheiros (σάπφειρος), which referred to lapis lazuli. It is typically blue, but natural "fancy" sapphires also occur in yellow, purple, orange, and green colors; "parti sapphires" show two or more colors. Red corundum stones also occur, but are called rubies rather than sapphires. Pink-colored corundum may be classified either as ruby or sapphire depending on the locale. Commonly, natural sapphires are cut and polished into gemstones and worn in jewelry. They also may be created synthetically in laboratories for industrial or decorative purposes in large crystal boules. Because of the remarkable hardness of sapphires – 9 on the Mohs scale (the third hardest mineral, after diamond at 10 and moissanite at 9.5) – sapphires are also used in some non-ornamental applications, such as infrared optical components, high-durability windows, wristwatch crystals and movement bearings, and very thin electronic wafers, which are used as the insulating substrates of special-purpose solid-state electronics such as integrated circuits and GaN-based blue LEDs. Sapphire is the birthstone for September and the gem of the 45th anniversary. A sapphire jubilee occurs after 65 years.
The Sri Lanka men's national cricket team, nicknamed The Lions, represents Sri Lanka in men's international cricket. It is a full Member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) with Test, One-Day International (ODI) and T20 International (T20I) status. The team first played international cricket in 1926–27 and became an associate member of the ICC in 1965. They were awarded the Test status in 1981, which made Sri Lanka the eighth Test cricket-playing nation. The team is administered by Sri Lanka Cricket.
The Star of India is a 563.35-carat star sapphire, one of the largest such gems in the world. It is almost flawless and is unusual in that it has stars on both sides of the stone. The greyish-blue gem was mined in Sri Lanka and is housed in the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.
The Logan Sapphire is a 422.98-carat (84.596 g) sapphire from Sri Lanka. One of the largest blue faceted sapphires in the world, it was owned by Sir Victor Sassoon and then purchased by M. Robert Guggenheim as a gift for his wife, Rebecca Pollard Guggenheim, who donated the sapphire to the Smithsonian Institution in 1960. The sapphire's name is derived from Rebecca's new surname after marrying John A. Logan. It has been displayed in the National Gem Collection of the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C., since 1971. It is a mixed cushion-cut sapphire, approximately the size of a large chicken egg, and set in a silver and gold brooch surrounded by 20 round brilliant-cut diamonds.
The Star of Bombay is a 182-carat (36.4-g) cabochon-cut star sapphire originating in Sri Lanka. The violet-blue gem was given to silent film actress Mary Pickford by her husband, Douglas Fairbanks. She bequeathed it to the Smithsonian Institution. It is the namesake of the popular alcoholic beverage Bombay Sapphire, a British-manufactured gin.
Nannophrys ceylonensis, commonly known as the Sri Lanka rock frog or the Ceylon streamlined frog, is a species of frog. It used to be placed in the large frog family Ranidae but a phylogenetic study was undertaken using DNA sequences and it is now included in the family Dicroglossidae. It is endemic to Sri Lanka where its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, subtropical or tropical moist montane forests, rivers and streams.
Deshamanya Geoffrey Manning Bawa, was a Sri Lankan architect. He was among the most influential Asian architects of his generation.
The Star of Asia is a large, 330 carats (66 g) cabochon-cut star sapphire now in the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. It is noted for its significant size and is considered to be one of the largest of its type. Adding to its aesthetic value are its rich blue colour and clear star, formed from three intersecting rutile striations.
The Star of Adam is an oval-shaped blue star sapphire, currently the largest star sapphire in the world. It weighs 1,404.49 carats. Prior to its discovery in 2015, the Black Star of Queensland, weighing 733 carats (146.6 g), was the largest star sapphire gem in the world.
Vallibel One PLC is one of Sri Lanka's largest conglomerate companies. The company controls a chain of subsidiaries and listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange since 2011. The company has controlling stakes in LB Finance, Royal Ceramics Lanka, and Delmege Group. The company was included in S&P Sri Lanka 20 Index in 2018. Vallibel One is one of the LMD 100 companies in Sri Lanka.
The following lists notable events that took place during the year 2021 in Sri Lanka.
Amaya Resorts & Spas, trading as Hayleys Leisure PLC, is a Sri Lankan hospitality company. The company is listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange on 11 March 1996 and Sri Lankan conglomerate, Hayleys owns a controlling stake of 61.66% of the company's stocks. In 2020, Amaya Resorts & Spas ranked 87th amongst the top 100 most valuable brands in Sri Lanka by Brand Finance.
The Allison and Roberto Mignone Halls of Gems and Minerals are a series of exhibition halls at the American Museum of Natural History on the Upper West Side in Manhattan, New York City. The halls opened on June 12, 2021, as a complete redesign of their predecessors, the Harry Frank Guggenheim Hall of Gems and Minerals and Morgan Memorial Hall of Gems. The halls feature thousands of rare gems, mineral specimens and pieces of jewelry.
Queen of Asia is the world's largest natural corundum blue sapphire. It weighs 310 kilograms. It was found in Batugedara in the Ratnapura district, and it was revealed in December 2021. Estimated value is USD 100 million.
Ashok Ferrey is a Sri Lankan writer of literary fiction.
ITC Ratnadipa is a luxury hotel in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The hotel is part of the Indian hotel chain ITC Hotels, while WelcomHotels Lanka Pvt. Ltd, a subsidiary of ITC Limited, is the proprietor. The hotel is located adjacent to the Galle Face Green and next to Shangri-La Colombo and Taj Samudra hotels. It is ITC Hotels' first foreign investment. The hotel is 140 metres (460 ft) tall and accompanied by a 224 metres (735 ft) tall Sapphire Residences building. The two buildings are connected by Ahasa One, a 55 metres (180 ft) sky bridge. The sky bridge is built 100 metres (330 ft) above ground, connecting 19-21 levels of the two buildings. The groundbreaking of the hotel took place on 19 November 2014. The project was intended to open in 2017 but was delayed several times. WelcomHotels Lanka received its third extension in seven years to commence operations. The project received strategic investment status from the government of Sri Lanka and received tax breaks. The hotel was inaugurated by Sri Lankan president Ranil Wickremesinghe on 25 April 2024.
References
- 1 2 "Sri Lanka: World's largest star sapphire cluster found in backyard". bbc.com. 27 July 2021. Retrieved 2024-06-27.
- ↑ "Serendipity Sapphire: world's largest star sapphire cluster". thesrilanka.lk. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
- ↑ Farzan, Zulfick (27 July 2021). "EXCLUSIVE IMAGES of "Serendipity Sapphire", the largest in the world". Archived from the original on 2021-08-09.