Ratnapura (which means "city of gems" in Sinhala or tamil languages) is the location of the "Serendipity Sapphire", a huge cluster of 2.5 million gems. Thierry Falise/LightRocket via Getty ImagesA massive 1,124-pound cluster worth $100 million was found by workers digging a well.This cluster is known as the "Serendipity Sapphire", and it contains 2.5 million sapphire cars.This fortunate find was made in Ratnapura which is Sri Lanka's capital city of gems.For more stories, visit Insider's homepage.A group of 2.5 million sapphire cars was discovered by workers digging a well in the backyard a Sri Lankan jewel trader. It weighed over 1,000 pounds.Lucky find was made in Ratnapura in southern Sri Lanka, known as the "city of gems". The "Serendipity Sapphire" cluster measures in at a stunning 39 inches by 28 inches.Gamage, third-generation gem trader and owner, declined to reveal his full name to the BBC. The news outlet heard that it took Gamage over a year for him to clean the mud from the 1,124-pound cluster of stones, examine its qualities and officially certificate it.Gamage said that Gamage was alerted by the person digging the well to some rare stones. "Later, we found this enormous specimen."He was astonished to discover that the discovery could have a high value. This was due to the fact that large quantities of sapphires were constantly chipping away at him while he cleaned the impurities from the rock.According to the BBC, the sapphire cluster was valued at up to $100million."I have never seen a specimen this large before." "This was formed approximately 400 million years ago," Gamini Zoysa, a gemologist, told BBC.Thilak Weerasinghe (chair of the Sri Lankan National Gem and Jewelry Authority) was also interviewed by the news outlet. He stated that the sapphire would be attractive to private collectors as well as museums due to its size and value.Sri Lanka's gem and jewelry trade is worth approximately $550 million annually. The Serendipity Sapphire cluster of gems could represent a fifth or more of Sri Lanka's annual gem export earnings.Continue the storySri Lanka is well-known for its rare gems. The country also has the "Blue Belle of Asia", a 392-carat cushion-cut sapphire, which was sold at auction for $17.5million.The "Star of India," an Indian star sapphire of 563 carats, was also found in the country’s mines. It is currently on display at New York's American Museum of Natural History. This gem was taken by amateur jewel thieves in 1964, after they broke into the museum and opened the box in which it was kept with duct tape and a glasscutter.In 2011, a Sri Lankan jewelers' association told BBC that the 12-carat sapphire in Kate Middleton’s ring was likely to have come from mines in Sri Lanka.Insider has the original article.
