There’s a sparkle in his eye and he tells us why
It’s more than three decades since well-known gem exporter Deshabandu Nimal Pathirana gifted a 22 carat blue sapphire to Queen Elizabeth II. His eyes still sparkle with delight when he recollects the day he gifted the stone to the Queen when they met at the President’s House in Colombo in 1981.
“The sapphire was one of the exhibits at a gem exhibition which was held at the President’s House in honour of the Queen’s visit. This particular sapphire was laid inside an oyster shell and sparkled beautifully in the light. The Queen was drawn to it from the time she saw it,” Mr.Pathirana recalled.
Queen Elizabeth looking at the gem display. President Jayewardene and Mr. Pathirana are in the background
The exhibition had been the idea of President J.R. Jayewardene, a close confidant of the gem magnate. It was an occasion when some of the best gems in the country were put on display for the benefit of the visiting British royals who were in the country on a state visit.
“It was around 10.30 in the morning when the Queen came and took a look at the exhibits. She took the sapphire into her hand and looked at it. Then she left saying she would come back later,” he recalled. She returned around 4.30 the same evening. She took a second look at it and after a brief exchange between the President and the Queen, the Sri Lankan Head of State had asked Mr. Pathirana if he would like to gift the stone to the Queen. “I assented to the President’s request and asked him to gift it to her with his own hands. She was happy to receive it and shook my hand,” he said.
Before the Queen left the country, Mr. Pathirana also had the honour of being a special invitee at a dinner hosted for the Queen at the President’s House where he was seated next to the Queen.
As he recollects his meeting with Queen Elizabeth, the renowned gem dealer also vividly recalls the day that the 3250 carat rough stone of the natural Blue Sapphire was brought into his office in Ratnapura in 1980 by a man named Baby Singho along with four others.
The stone had been found in a pit at Pothupitiya in Rakwana in Sinharaja. “I was so excited when I saw it. I was determined to buy it. I was perspiring with excitement on seeing it,” he said.
Nimal Pathirana
“The men wanted Rs.10 million for it. After bargaining, they settled for Rs. four million. There were only Rs. 50 and Rs. 100 notes in circulation then. I filled two gunny bags with the money and put some vegetables on top to conceal the notes and delivered the four million rupees,” Mr. Pathirana said. Around midnight, though, he had a strange experience. He imagined a man walking up to him and advising him not to cut the sapphire until he held a pooja at the Saman Devalaya.
This prompted him to visit the Devalaya the next day and consult the Kapuwa. On his advice he made a vow to refrain from eating fish and meat for a week and it was after elaborate religious rituals were performed that the cutting of the stone was undertaken.
Since then the stone has been cut into numerous pieces and sold all over the world. “I have exhausted 87 passports travelling the world selling gems,” the 64-year-old gem magnate said. It’s been a long journey for Nimal Pathirana, Managing Director of Royal Pathirana International Gem Exports. He began dealing in gems at the age of 22 after his schooling at St. Aloysius College, Ratnapura.
“My father and uncle were among the first Sinhalese to engage in the gem trade. I learnt the business from them and took it forward,” he says. Since then he has been recognised for his services to the country having been conferred the title of Deshabandu by former President D.B. Wijetunga.
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