Ratnapura has been our 2nd home, our turf for many seasons, and always the returns are homecomings. This is where 95% of our sapphires are coming from. I always strived to get them unheated. Nowadays, everything has changed. Domestic prices for gemstones after 2020 COVID-19 and the ongoing country's financial crisis are at an all-time high. But this lovely town with its very charming people, surrounded by a paradise is resilient and keeping on digging. The pictures below are made with a SRL camera (basically a camera with a film in it) during our first trips there at the very beginning of 2000s. The quality is not great, but it gives you a very good visual feeling. Original photos by Rodolfo Ciscato.