How to start a gem business in Sri Lanka
· GemColony
Decide where you fit
The Sri Lankan gem trade has distinct roles: mining and buying rough in places such as Ratnapura and Elahera, cutting and polishing, wholesale trading, export, and retail to tourists. Each has different capital needs, skills and risks. Most newcomers do best starting in one role and learning it well before adding another.
Learn to identify and grade
Mistakes in identification or treatment are expensive. Before you spend serious money, spend time with experienced dealers and a gemological laboratory, and consider a formal gemology course. Buy small and get stones tested until your own judgement is reliable.
Check the licences before you trade
Gem dealing and export in Sri Lanka are regulated by the National Gem and Jewellery Authority (NGJA), which issues dealer licences, and mining is regulated separately. Requirements, fees and stock limits change, so confirm the current rules directly with the NGJA and the relevant mining authority before you buy, sell or export anything. This article is a guide, not legal advice.
Keep clean records from the first stone
Record where each stone was bought, from whom, for how much, its weight, any treatment and any laboratory report. Buyers, tax officers and exporters will all ask for this later, and it is much harder to rebuild than to keep.
Plan your cash and your buyers
Stone prices are negotiated and stock can sit for months, so cash flow matters. Know who your likely buyers are, whether local dealers, exporters or overseas customers, before you commit to buying.