Natural Sapphires launches Blue Romantic collection in Colombo

Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake during the preview and launch celebration of Natural Sapphires blue on Tuesday 23rd August at Rotunda Gardens in Colombo.​

Models showcasing the jewelries made with natural blue sapphire during preview and launch celebration of Natural Sapphires blue on Tuesday 23rd August at Rotunda Gardens in Colombo.

Pix by Gitika Talukdar

At a glittering event of glamour and style, internationally-renowned exporters of calibrated and unique natural sapphires from Sri Lanka, Precision Lapidaries and Natural Sapphires Ceylon, in partnership with the Fine Jewellery Company (FJC), launched its new jewellery line‘Natural Sapphire Blue’ at Rotunda Gardens, Colombo 3. 

Arriving at the launch was the reigning Ms.Tourism International, Vera Dijkstra, wearing the meticulously handcrafted crown for Ms. Tourism International, which interweaves this island nation’s rich history, ancient traditions and vibrant multi-dimensional cultures using Ceylon blue sapphires, rubies and topaz.

Also at the launch was famed Thai actress Nampetech Sunannipar displaying the fastidious craftsmanship of FJC, wearing an exclusive necklace set with pink sapphires and diamonds, a fine example of the unique artistry imbued within the Natural Sapphires Blue jewellery collection. Also joining the glamorous cohort of invitees was international award winning jewellery designer Paloma Sanchez, one of the 30 best jewellery designers in the world, featured in the ‘Unique Book, The Best Jewelry Designers’ launched at Baselworld 2013.

According to Creative Director of FJC NabeelSalie, “The collection draws inspiration from the legacy of his great grandfather M.U.M. Salie, or Prince Salie of Ceylon as he was known, who, over a century ago crossed oceans to bring the mysteries of the Orient to the USA, etching a name and vast fortunes in the 1920s and 1930s. Prince Salie’s donation in 1921 of 55 gemstones stand proudly alongside the iconic gem collections of Charles Lewis Tiffany at Chicago’s Field Museum of Natural History at its founding. Robert Shipley (Founder of GIA) referred to the moonstone as Salie’s Stone in his Dictionary of Gems and Gemmology published in 1971.”  

Chairman of international award winning supplier of precision cut calibrated Ceylon Sapphires to some of the leading jewellery houses in the world and Registered Vendor for Tiffany & Company, Precision Lapidaries, FaiqRehanSaliesaid: “Our stones adorn the collections of some of the most glamorous women in the world, from royalty to Hollywood.  We now want to make those high quality stones accessible to Sri Lankans, as we have been in the business of sourcing, cutting and producing some of the finest gemstones the world has ever seen.  Our uniqueness is that we control every process from the sourcing of the finest quality royal blue sapphires to crafting meticulous fine jewellery while maintaining the highest quality standards, all under one roof at our state of the art facility in Colombo.”

Nabeel, whose experience is drawn from working at Tiffany & Co, Dunhill and the Richemont Group’s Mont Blanc, possesses an infectious enthusiasm, well seen in the brilliance of the Ms. Tourism International crown he conceptualised.  During his tenure, FJC has also won the jewellery design award at Fashion Asia in China in 2015 and has taken FJC to the skies with its jewellery offered on Srilankan Airlines and Malindo Air on board.  

- Pix by Gitika Talukdar