Behind the scenes at Beruwala gem market

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to buy gems in Sri Lanka? In our inaugural blog post, we cover the exciting (and often overwhelming!) process of buying gemstones in Beruwala, a typical gem trading town in Sri Lanka.

We arrived in Beruwala after a two-hour drive along the picturesque western coast, as the traders were filtering into town. Mopeds lined the street, and traders stood in clusters across the main market area, both on the pavements and in the streets, drinking their morning tea and sharing market gossip. 

Unlike miners, who are predominantly Sinhalese Buddhists, gem traders in Sri Lanka largely come from Muslim families. Their dress reflected this, with some wearing prayer hats and sarongs and others in street clothes. Regardless of dress, traders all share a common trait, however: the ubiquitous pouch filled with gems and cash, hidden under their waistband.  

The market area consists of low-rise concrete buildings that serve as small offices. Gem trading in Sri Lanka requires working with an agent, who secures an office to use for the day in sort of a reverse market situation: the buyer secures an office and the traders come to the buyer to sell. 

We entered our office around noon; after only a few minutes of putting the word out on WhatsApp, traders started entering our office, and forming a cluster outside our door. Our agent was a pro at crowd control (thankfully!) and managed to maintain only about five traders in the room at a time.

The rest was a bit of a whirlwind, but trade goes something like this. A trader holds out a gemstone in his hand and asks if you like it. You take it, examine it, weigh it, and generally do what you like, including interrogating the buyer about place of origin. 

If you want the stone, you offer a price by typing it into a calculator (in rupees), and negotiation proceeds by passing the calculator, accompanied by the obligatory grunts of dissatisfaction with the number being presented. Once you accept, your agent handles payment of the trader and arranges selected stones to be lab tested.

If you don’t want the stone, you say no. The good traders continue to offer you gems you might like based on your feedback; the annoying traders insist that you should like the stone they’ve already offered, and insist you give them a price! Often a trader will return later in the day with revised stock based on your preferences.

Initially, traders came to us with stones from countries spanning the Indian Ocean (as many traders have “cousins” in Madagascar, Mozambique, Tanzania, etc.). But, once they knew we were only buying Sri Lankan gems, their offering became more aligned with our requirements. In a later issue, we will discuss how we diligence place of origin in our gemstones. 

Now, keep in mind that this whole time the process is playing out with multiple traders, so not only do you need to choose the stones you like, translate currencies from rupees, and ensure you get the right price, but you also need to keep records! Thankfully, we here at Team Kirica have complementary skill sets and were able to do a bit of a tag team effort.

By only 3 pm we were finished and exhausted, and had some well deserved tea and sandwiches while admiring our new acquisitions. We think the fruit of our labour speaks for itself and is reflected in the quality of the gemstones in all of the Kirica Fine pieces that we are excited to share with you!

Should you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to us - we would love to hear from you!

With gratitude,

Sarah and Adam