The 12-carat Ceylon blue sapphire arrived in London 35 years ago for Lady Diana. Sri Lanka is second only to Brazil in terms of gemstones. All royal mementoes are “Made in China”.

Colombo (AsiaNews/Agencies) – The famous royal engagement sapphire ring Prince William gave his future bride Kate Middleton came from Sri Lanka. The stone, a Ceylon Blue Sapphire, landed in Britain 35 years ago and was first worn by Princess Diana in 1981.

Sri Lanka produces more than 50 varieties of gemstones, second only to Brazil, and is thought to account for about 25 per cent of global sapphire sales, for an estimated US$ 350 million annually.

The 12-carat stone is mounted on a ring surrounded by diamonds. Originally mined as a 32-carat uncut gem, it was re-cut to 18 carats and sold to a gem dealer in Colombo who then sold it to a Canadian jeweller who re-cut it into a 12-carat stone and in turn sold it to Garrard, the royal jewellers in London.

The value of the sapphire was about ,000 when it was mined, but its estimated market value today is in the region of US$ 600,000.

The royal engagement ring is not the only gift from Asia. Most of the royal wedding commemorative chinaware comes from China, and is made by the Tangshan Hengrui Ceramics, in the city of Tangshan, northeastern China. So far, some 45,000 pieces of royal wedding chinaware have been shipped to Britain.

Even the multi-tiered wedding cake has an Asian connection. It was made by Fiona Cairns Ltd, a company whose managing director is one Kishore Patel, of Indian origin. The company makes 27,000 fairy cakes a week.

No comment about the cake itself, except that “it's cream and white (icing)” with each tiers having a different theme.

The cake will probably include dried fruits like raisins, walnuts, cherries, grated oranges and lemon.

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