Crescent Gems - Gem buying trip to sri Lanka

AS A BUYER Sri Lanka is your source for Treated/Untreated Blue Sapphires, Rubies, Padparasha, Yellow sapphires, chrysoberyls, Zircons and lots of Rare Stones . As a producing country we supply some of the best blue Sapphires around. Sizes range from 0.2 carat to HUGE 120 carat pieces in fine quality.

A successful trip depends on good planning and contacts. we have offices in Rathnapura ( main gem Area ) where millions of $$$ worth of stocks change hands daily and we take you to the source. we accompany you to deal with the language problem .... and any other problem that may arise.

We charge a commission of 5% for our services on all gems and jewellry purchased.

If you need us to take care of the whole trip including travel and lodging, we do that as well.

Full board accommodation ( with meals ) and Traveling within the country are all bundled into our special tour price of US $ 2250 per person. ( minimum 2 pax ) Our tours are flexible and can be changed to meet your needs, A tipical tour would be as follows.

Day 1	Pickup from airport. Usually flight arrive late at night , straight to Mount lavinia Hotel for the Night.( Depends on Avaialbility ) first day will be in colombo to rest, after lunch visit to a sri lankan lapidary and visit World Trade Center the hub of sri lankan gem trade in colombo.
Day 2	Second day starts at 6 a.m. in the morning traveling to Rathnapura , breakfast at an eco lodge and Visit to see how heat treatment is done to gemstones, arrive in Rathnapura for lunch and visit pit mine and gem museum. stay at Rathnaloka hotel ( Depends on Avaialbility )
Day 3	After breakfast we visit the main gem market in rathnapura, we will arrange our office for you to buy direct from the sellers. Tell them what stones you are looking for and stones will flow in.
Day 4	One day is Simply not enough to go through the exciting gemstones you will see , so we spend another day , by 2 p.m. we leave for the beach and stay the night at Paradise Beach Club ( Depends on Avaialbility )
Day 5	Wake up the the sound of the waves. run, jog, swim, surf and spend the day as you like, Relax on the beach at Mirrissa
Day 6	after breakfast visit a gem trading area called ginthota its a 4 hour tour to buy gemstones and back again to the beach for lunch at Mirrissa. rest of the day on the beach enjoying the sunset.
Day 7	Leave for colombo at 6a.m., export paper work will be attended to and ready for a safe departure.


Pit mine in rathnapura	Beach Paradise	Golden sands

* Sri lankan travel VISA for US have to be taken online HERE
* Price does not include alcoholic beverages.
* Price does not include airfare.
* Price does not include any gem or jewelry purchase.
* Hotels we have chosen for you are star class Hotels - Mount lavinia Hotel ( colombo ) , Rathnaloka Hotel ( rathnapura ) and Paradise Beach Club ( Mirrissa ) ( depends on Availability)

Orchidians Testimonials ( you are in safe hands )

Dear Orchidians,

I just came back from a short gem-buying trip in Sri Lanka, where I met Ahmed Shareek. We had a good time going to the Gem City of Ratnapura, looked at lots of nice stones and had great buying experience. "Sri Lanka is a land like no other", says the logo of the Sri Lankan tourist board. It is true in every sense, Visitors are still few, stones are plenty - beaches are long, and food is spicy. Ahmed was there for me with his patience, knowledge and unparalleled generosity. If you thought of Sri lankan stones or going to Sri-Lanka, Ahmed Shareek <crescentgems@gmail.com> is your man.

Thank you, and Merry Xmas to you all.
Hemi Englisher
Gemcal Co. Ltd. - The Spinel Source
Booth 1102 GLDX Tucson

I wanted to take a moment to share the wonderful experience my husband had in Sri Lanka courtesy of orchid member Ahmed Shareek. Some months ago I inquired about a reputable stone dealer in Sri Lanka - immediately I received 5 or more orchid responses - sort of like a Greek chorus - saying Ahmed Shareek. I was familiar with his name from the list but didn't realize he was in Sri Lanka. I had anticipated my husband would be traveling to Sri Lanka in April - it was cancelled. Meanwhile I purchased some stones via the internet from Ahmed and was very happy with them. My husband finally went in August and just returned - it was a State Dept. trip unrelated to gems and jewelry but at Ahmed's invitation, he called Ahmed and was given the royal treatment - he took him shopping, showed him around, introduced him to restaurants, gem and antique jewelry dealers, etc - it was absolutely wonderful!! Ahmed was extremely generous with him time and information and of course, I am happy because I am now the proud owner of some new gems and some antique jewelry - Thank
you, thank you, thank you!!

Ahmed invited people to visit him in Sri Lanka - I highly recommend it, and him, if you can possibly go.

Trip of Tony & Rita King ,

My wife and I had a wonderful 10 days in Sri Lanka in July this year (2012) only made possible with Ahmed’s help and extreme generosity.

Ahmed took us everywhere meeting gem merchants, sightseeing, restaurants, markets and many places of interest. He took us to Ratnapura where he organised a stream of miners to show us their stones. My wife got a fabulous blue sapphire which Armed arranged to have set into a 18kt gold ring. I bought excellent aquamarines,

green zircon, kornerupine, hessonites and sinhalites helped immeasurably by Ahmed’s gem expertise. He also organised to have my gems certified. We visited the gem mines and a heat treatment facility which were fascinating.

We have nothing but praise for Ahmed’s generosity, extreme willingness to help and the time he took in driving us everywhere. We would have never seen half the things we saw without his aid.

If you visit Sri Lanka and want a good gem buying experience, we highly recommend you contact Ahmed and he will give you an unforgettable time.

Tony & Rita King

Herberton

Australia