Chamila Suranga, a gemmology researcher attached to Gemological Institute of Ratnapura inspects a 310 kilograms (683 pounds) heavy natural corundum blue sapphire at a residence where it is kept in Horana, about 41 kilometers (25 miles) south of Colombo, Sri Lanka, Sunday, Dec. 12, 2021. A gem company in Sri Lanka has unveiled the massive gemstone that is certified as a rare and one of the biggest corundums found in the country and plans to offer it to museums and gem collectors. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)
A gem company in Sri Lanka has unveiled a rare and massive gemstone weighing 683 pounds (310 kilograms) that has been certified as one of the biggest corundums ever found in the country.
Sri Lanka's National Gem and Jewelry Authority says it has done a series of gemological tests on five samples taken from the rock.
“To our knowledge this specimen is indeed a rare specimen and not recorded in the geological literature," read an authentication letter given by the authority to the owners who unveiled the stone on Sunday.
When the outer layer was removed for inspection, the interior showed a silky blue patchy appearance, the letter said, suggesting the stone is a blue sapphire.
Shanka Ruwanditha, a director of the company that currently owns the massive stone, the Gemological Institute of Ratnapura, told The Associated Press on Monday that the owners plan to obtain the services of a local or foreign gem valuer soon to determine the price of the rock.
Sri Lanka and especially its southwestern city of Ratnapura, or the Gem City in the local language, has been known for centuries for mining gems and precious stones.
Between corporate debt and the widening gap between ‘the haves and the have nots,’ there are reasons to be cautious about the economy, even with interest rate cuts on their way.
If the A.I. hype hasn’t given you enough of a reason to be excited (and a little terrified), the CEO of Zapata AI says the next frontier is designing bridges or creating pharmaceutical drugs.
Stocks are near record highs, inflation is moderating, and analyst Deiya Pernas is 'optimistic' the U.S. is heading for a soft landing without a recession – which is good news for your wallet.
Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin loved pulling pranks, so much so they began rolling outlandish ideas every April Fools' Day not long after starting their company more than a quarter century ago.
Sam Bankman-Fried co-founded the FTX crypto exchange in 2019 and quickly built it into the world’s second most popular place to trade digital currency. It collapsed almost as quickly — by the fall of 2022, it was bankrupt.
The economic effects of the Baltimore bridge collapse, Americans are living longer but not better, and Gen Z and millennials are struggling to afford rent, let alone a mortgage.
