Who we are

A Ceylon gem house that buys at the source

Ceylon Veritas Gems is a Sri Lankan house that buys at the mines and gem markets of Ratnapura and Elahera and has every stone cut and polished in Sri Lanka.

Where we buy
Ratnapura and Elahera
Where stones are cut
Sri Lanka
A cushion cut blue sapphire held in tweezers above its sealed packet, loupe and laboratory report

Buying from Sri Lanka

Is it safe to buy gems from Sri Lanka?

It is safe when you can check what you are told, and it is not when you cannot. The fears are well founded: certificates from labs nobody has heard of, real certificates paired with a different stone, heat that goes unmentioned. None of them survives a report you can verify at source.

So judge any Sri Lanka gem dealer, us included, the same way: read the report before you pay and check it with the laboratory yourself. Every certified stone we list shows the laboratory, the full report number and a link to that laboratory's own lookup.

That is the whole method for buying gems from Sri Lanka with your eyes open: not trust in a seller, a document an independent laboratory has to stand behind.

A blue sapphire resting on its embossed laboratory report

The house

Who is Ceylon Veritas Gems?

The name sets the bar: veritas is Latin for truth. We are a small house on purpose, close to every stone we sell, and plain about what is confirmed about a gem and what is still waiting on its report.

We sell to people who will not gamble on a gem they cannot hold. Every stone is chosen by hand, photographed and filmed under natural light, and listed with what is known about it ready to view. We sell the stone and the proof together.

Four Ceylon stones on black: a blue cushion in front of a yellow oval, a pink oval and a padparadscha oval

The founders

Who is behind the house?

Tharindu Dilshan N. Kandage

Co-founder

Tharindu comes to gemstones from finance: more than a decade in Sri Lanka's banking sector, then entrepreneurship of his own, including as co-owner of Rohana Transport. That background shapes how the house is run, from its financial discipline to the commercial relationships behind its sourcing.

At Ceylon Veritas Gems he leads strategic development, gemstone sourcing and the house's international relationships. His measure for the business is simple: credibility and transparency first, so buyers, collectors and jewellers can build on what the house says.

Ashan Warnakulasuriya

Co-founder

Ashan grew up inside a second generation family business and still helps run it: Warna Caterers, a catering and hospitality house with more than 28 years behind it, alongside The Crown Restaurant, Red Apple and Warna Imports. Hospitality taught him the habits the gem trade rewards: service, professionalism and relationships that outlast a single sale.

At Ceylon Veritas Gems he oversees international business development, client relations, gemstone sourcing and marketing. His approach starts with what each client actually needs, and builds a relationship that extends beyond a single transaction.

Ceylon Veritas Gems was founded on a simple belief: Sri Lanka's extraordinary gemstones deserve to be represented with the same integrity as the stones themselves. Tharindu and Ashan bring finance, hospitality, imports and international business to one shared aim, a house that connects Sri Lanka to the world's gem buyers with authenticity, transparency and personal service at the heart of every interaction.

From Sri Lanka. Built on trust. Connected to the world.

From the gravel to the listing

How do we choose stones?

  1. Bought by hand, at source

    One stone at a time, at the mines and gem markets of Ratnapura and Elahera. We only buy what we can send to an independent laboratory and stand behind; if a stone will not pass that test, we leave it on the table.

  2. Weighed on what a laboratory can state

    Weight, measurements, species, treatment and origin where the laboratory can determine it: the facts a buyer can check come first. Colour and cut then decide how the stone reads in the hand.

  3. Cut and polished in Sri Lanka

    The cutting is done in Sri Lanka, so the stone is finished where it was found, and the report is issued on the loose stone, before any setting.

  4. Listed with the proof

    Heat is normal practice in the trade; hiding it is not, and a heated stone says heated in the same size and colour as an unheated one. A stone whose report is pending says so plainly, with no price and no report claim.

Hands washing river gravel in a woven basket, a blue rough stone visible among the pebbles
A relief map of Sri Lanka with the Ratnapura and Elahera gem districts marked

The report

Why do we lead with the report?

Because the report is the one part of a gem description somebody independent has to stand behind. It states weight, measurements, species, treatment and origin where the laboratory can determine it. It does not grade beauty and it does not set a price; it establishes the facts a fair price rests on.

So every listing here shows what its report states, or says plainly that the report is pending. What we tell you about a stone is written down, so you can hold us to it.

See the certified Ceylon sapphires Read the pricing guide
A fingertip resting on the printed lines of a laboratory report beside its embossed seal

Questions

Asked before you buy

If something about the house is not answered here, write to Colombo and a gemmologist replies, not a template.

Sri Lanka. We buy at the mines and gem markets of Ratnapura and Elahera, and where a laboratory can determine origin the report states it and we publish what it says.

Cutters in Sri Lanka. Every stone we buy is cut and polished on the island, and the report is issued on the loose stone, before any setting.

Yes. Every listing shows what its laboratory report states, or says plainly that the report is pending, and a pending stone carries no price and no report claim. What we tell you about a stone is written down, so you can hold us to it.

We buy at the mines and gem markets of Ratnapura and Elahera, but the proof we point to is not our own word: where a laboratory can determine origin, the report states it and we publish what it says. Where it cannot, we do not claim it.

Only from its report. A heated stone says heated in the same size and colour as an unheated one, and a stone whose report is pending carries no report claim at all. Nothing here is assumed either way.

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.