Buying with us

Insured gemstone shipping from Sri Lanka

Every stone ships insured from Colombo, tracked door to door with a signature on delivery, by FedEx or by EMS. On FedEx we pay the import duties; on EMS they are settled by you on arrival.

Two services
FedEx or EMS
Duties
Prepaid on FedEx
Gloved hands sealing a parcel beside a sapphire resting in its open paper packet

The journey

How is a stone packed and shipped?

  1. Sealed with its report

    The stone travels with its laboratory report, in the sealed packet a return has to come back in intact. The packet is what ties the stone in your hand to the report that describes it.

  2. Leaves Colombo insured

    The parcel ships insured, from Colombo to your door. None of that is unusual for a parcel of this value, and all of it applies to every order we send.

  3. Tracked the whole way

    Tracked means it is scanned along the way, so you can see where it has reached.

  4. Signed for at your door

    A signature means it is handed to a person rather than left on a doorstep, door to door from Colombo.

A sapphire in its presentation box with its folded document, the shipping carton behind

A stone going into a setting first runs to a different clock. Drawings come back in five working days and setting takes four to six weeks in our Colombo workshop. The stone is photographed before and after setting, and it ships after that with its report. Most buyers take the stone loose, and then only the carriage time applies.

Duties and tax

What happens with gemstone import duty?

Which service the parcel travels by decides who pays the duty. On FedEx we pay the import duties ourselves, so the price you paid is the whole of it and there is nothing to settle when the parcel arrives. On EMS the duties are not prepaid, and your own customs authority collects them from you before it is released.

So tell us which you would rather have before you buy, and we will say what each costs and what it means for the duty at your end. Payment sits separately from duty in either case: card is taken to US$ 10,000 and bank transfer above that, invoiced in USD. Customs treatment varies by country, and a named country is easier to answer honestly than a general rule.

Ask about your country How returns work
A sealed parcel taped in navy on a wooden table, a frangipani flower beside it

Questions

Asked before you buy

If a question about shipping is not answered here, write to Colombo and a gemmologist replies, not a template.

Yes. Every stone ships insured from Colombo, door to door, and a signature is required on delivery.

It depends on the service the parcel travels by. On FedEx we pay the import duties, so there is nothing to settle when it arrives. On EMS the duties are not prepaid and your own customs authority collects them from you.

That depends on the service and on where you are. FedEx is the faster of the two we use and EMS the slower, and the transit time for your own address is confirmed in writing before the parcel leaves Colombo rather than promised in general here. The tracking then shows it moving.

Yes. The courier takes a signature on delivery, so the parcel is handed to a person rather than left on a doorstep.

Yes. The stone travels with its laboratory report, in the sealed packet a return has to come back in intact.

Talk to a gemmologist

Buy Ceylon gems with a real person beside you

Every stone we sell is certified and its treatment stated plainly, and a named gemmologist is here whenever you want one. Message us on WhatsApp or book a video viewing, and we will walk you through any stone at your pace.

Message us on WhatsApp

What to expect

  • Any stone, under the loupe

    On a video viewing we examine the stone live and answer what you ask.

  • Answers in writing

    What we tell you about a stone is written down, so you can hold us to it.

  • Never rushed

    A decision this size takes the time it takes. We do not push.