In the press
As featured in — Ada Derana, Sri Lanka's leading news network
“Ministry of Gems® makes its mark in Australia and the world with credibility and quality”
Ada Derana Biz English · 5 February 2024
“The company goes to great lengths to provide a higher standard of service than any other gemstone suppliers by dedicating themselves to transparency, quality and best price.”
Story angles worth telling
- Provenance is the new luxury — as lab-grown stones and undisclosed treatments flood the market, we deal in ethically-mined, untreated, single-origin sapphires you can actually verify.
- Echoes from the Mine — our documentary series, filmed inside our own mines: no studios, no stock footage, no actors.
- The ethics of the trade — because we mine at origin, we know exactly where every stone comes from and whom it supports.
The documentary
Inside a Real Ceylon Sapphire Mine, 20 Metres Underground — the official trailer for Echoes from the Mine. Read the full story on our Echoes from the Mine page, or watch From Wax to Gold, filmed inside our own jewellery factory.
From Blue Wax to Solid Gold — inside our jewellery factory
Watch a Ministry of Gems piece come to life the traditional way: carved first in blue wax, then cast, filed, stone-set and polished into solid gold by hand in our own workshop. It is the complete lost-wax process, start to finish — the second half of the mine-to-masterpiece journey, where a raw Ceylon sapphire becomes a finished heirloom.
The Gem Session — how a gemmologist chooses a sapphire
Step inside a working gem table in Dubai as one of our gemmologists sorts, weighs and judges sapphires in real time — reading colour, clarity, cut and origin the way the trade has done for generations. A rare, unscripted look at the expertise and eye behind every single stone we choose to carry.
Ministry of Gems at a glance
- What we are: an Australian gem house specialising in ethically-mined, untreated Ceylon sapphires — blue, teal & parti — alongside Australian sapphires, loose investment-grade stones and bespoke commissions.
- Based in: Sydney, Australia.
- Our operations: vertically integrated, lean, and efficient.
- Business model: mine to market — we mine, cut, set and sell.
- Founder: Akila Guruge.
- Online: ministryofgems.com.au
Founder
“Ministry of Gems® Founder Akila Guruge (MBA, BCom(ProfAccg)) is from Sri Lanka, and is a prominent figure in the Sri Lankan gem industry with well-established, reliable, and trustworthy connections from miners through to Sri Lankan authorities.”
— Ada Derana, Sri Lanka’s leading news network
Media assets
High-resolution logos, founder portraits, loose-stone photography and documentary stills are available to accredited media on request. Tell us your outlet and deadline and we'll send a tailored pack.
Media contact
Ministry of Gems — Media Enquiries
Email: sales@ministryofgems.com.au
Or reach us via our contact page.
Web: ministryofgems.com.au