Ancient mariners celebrated the gems of “Taprobane,” and their expeditions fueled the story-tellers of the Arabian Nights and their fables of the jewels of “Serendib.” During the Middle Ages, travelers told of the “sapphires, topazes, amethysts, garnets, and other costly stones” of Ceylon, and of the ruby which belonged to the Kandyan king of Serendib, having “a span in length, without a flaw, and brilliant beyond description”