Gemmology laboratory of int’l standards to be set up

SHIRLEY WIJESINGHE

A Gemmological laboratory of international standards will be established in Colombo shortly,said Chairman and the Chief Executive Officer of the National Gems and Jewelery Authority (NG&JA) Hasitha Thilakaratne.

For gems which are being tested in this laboratory will be issued a international recognized certificate, he added.

Thilakaratne said that the proposed laboratory will fulfill a long felt need of gem exporters by creating facilities to identify quality gems from heat treated gems for exporting purposes.

The proposed laboratory will provide an opportunity to everyone who seeks quality certification of their gems and it will provide a great help to export only quality and genuine stones at a good international market price.

He also said that the Government hopes to save foreign exchange that would otherwise have to be spent abroad when laboratory testings are done at international laboratories. The NG&JA has already allocated Rs.92.49 million from the fund collected by gem exporters from 2001.

The project will be managed by the Gemmological Laboratory (Pvt) Ltd.