Royal wedding promotes Ceylon Sapphire
The Export Development Board in association with the Sri Lanka Gem
and Jewellery Association wanted to highlight the Royal family's deep
and long-standing connection to the Ceylon Sapphire over many
generations, dating back to Henry V and more recently with the Princess
Diana and Kate Middleton.
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The website promoting priceless gems |
SLGJA and EDB has launched an innovative and informative website
targeting Royal wedding to promote Ceylon Blue sapphires
www.ceylonsapphire.co.uk.
The target was 250 UK and international media that are covering the
Royal Wedding, featuring the areas of news, fashion, culture and
lifestyle.
The Export Development Board having identified the gem and jewellery
sector as a thrust Industry to reach an Export target of US$ 1 billion
by 2015 saw the opportunity for the gem industry to raise the profile of
the Ceylon Sapphire on the back of the Royal Wedding, EDB Chairman
Janaka Ratnayake said.
"This will reinforcing our belief that Ceylon Sapphires today are
extremely valuable and more rare than diamonds. This unique campaign by
the EDB and the SLGJA, reinforces the unmatched superiority of the Sri
Lankan gem mining industry globally and the richness of our history
going back hundreds of years with the association of precious stones.
SLGJA Chairman Macky Hashim said, "This is the first time that SLGJA
have embarked on an international campaign of this nature to raise
awareness about the rarity and value of the Ceylon Sapphire.
The second stage of the campaign was the creation of a replica Ceylon
Sapphire and diamond hair pin, which was gifted on behalf of the Sri
Lanka Gem and Jewellery Association, as a gift to Kate Middleton to wear
on her wedding day.
The purpose of this extremely valuable, Ceylon Sapphire hair pin
surrounded by diamonds was to act as Kate's 'something blue' in the
tradition of most weddings where the Bride must wear 'something new,
something old, something borrowed and something blue'.
The hair pin was being delivered to Kate Middleton's family home in
Berkshire this week.
The story was fed into the press, getting coverage on popular wedding
blogs.
The ring itself, crafted by the Crown Jewellers - Asprey & Garrard of
London, at the time was valued at 28,500 pounds, it is now estimated to
be worth a whopping 32 million, in short it is priceless.
Some of the other famous sapphires, including the Logan Sapphire, and
the Asprey & Garrard designed "Heart of the Ocean" Sapphire, are from
the mines of Sri Lanka.
With the announcement of the Royal wedding, jewellers have been
overwhelmed with orders for replica rings, with some retailers reporting
an increase in sales of 800 percent for Ceylon Sapphires.
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