The Heritage Archive
Chapter I
Where Our Story Begins
Kuruwita Gonapitiya Gem Pit • Sri Lanka • 1932
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Every story has a beginning. Ours began beside a gem pit.
The Ceylon Masterpieces Heritage Archive
1932 — Kuruvita Gonapitiya Gem Pit
The Earliest Known Chapter
Every legacy begins long before it is given a name.
One of the earliest surviving photographs preserved within our family's archive dates back to 1932, capturing a gathering at the Kuruwita Gonapitiya Gem Pit in Sri Lanka.
Among those pictured is our great-grandfather, whose generation laid the earliest known foundations of our family's connection to the island's gemstone trade.
Although much of his personal story has been lost with time, this single photograph endures as a remarkable window into an era when gemstones were discovered through hard work, patience and generations of local knowledge.
Long before international exhibitions, overseas partnerships and bespoke jewellery houses, there were the gem pits of Sri Lanka.
It was here that the first chapter of our family's journey quietly began.
Family Archive
Heritage Document
1925
Original family passport documenting the journey across continents.
Exhibition Badge
1948
Commemorative badge from the first international trade exhibition.
Historical Map
1892
Hand-drawn map showing the original trade routes of our ancestors.
Year
1895
Location
Colombo, Ceylon
Generation
Third Generation
Archive Type
Photographic Collection
Historical Significance
Documents the colonial era and cultural heritage of Ceylon during British rule