Tiesh Gem Museum
Tiesh is a family-owned gem and jewelry store that has been operating for over two decades in Sri Lanka. Giving new definitions to style in the Sri Lankan Gem & Jewelry industry; it offers a diverse range of finely crafted jewelry and exceptional gemstones on par with international standards and warranties.
From everyday designs to the elegant and the glamorous ones; the patrons of Tiesh are offered exceptional creations that are both modern and contemporary. The luxurious jewelry collections available include white diamonds, colored diamonds, blue sapphires, star sapphires, rubies, star rubies, white sapphires, yellow sapphires, cats eye, and other precious and semi-precious stones; that are meticulously handcrafted in-house and artfully set into precious metals ranging from gold to sterling silver. By being in the tourism trade, Tish has gathered the knowledge to cater to discerning customers from many parts of the world; including Europe, the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, Russia, Thailand, Japan, and China to name a few.
The Founders
Owned by Lasantha, Bryony, Thiyasha and Ayesh De Fonseka; Tiesh has maintained an unshakable passion for ensuring high quality and specialist workmanship. According to De Fonseka, who is the founder, the secret to his success is his “never-ending zest for excellence from the laying of the first foundation stone to the final product today”. He added that he would not have been able to achieve this and more if not for the unstinted support from his family, his dedicated staff, and all those tour organizations through the past two decades.
Lasantha De Fonseka’s journey began on the 05th September 1997, when he opened Lakmini Pvt Ltd with little experience and equally small resources. The store was on a block on land along the Peradeniya Road in a location once occupied by the historic ‘Panabokke Walauwwa’. It soon grew to become a landmark that attracted a fast growing clientele, among which were predominantly tourists and tour operators.
The Tiesh Showroom
The Tiesh Showroom in Kandy is the largest ever gems and jewelry showroom in Sri Lanka. Spread over 10,000 square feet, ‘Tiesh by Lakmini’ is a virtual treasure trove both for the casual visitor and the discerning connoisseur. It boasts of an ultra-modern state-of-the-art interior design on par with international jewelry stores, coupled with exquisite and uniquely designed jewelry of the highest quality. The products are reasonably priced and very often feature one-of-a-kind gemstones.
In addition to its retail section the Tiesh showroom also houses a geological museum, a testing laboratory, an auditorium, a jewelry workshop, and a replica of a gem mine which is a draw among both local and foreign clients.
The Gem Mine
One of the unique features of the Tish showroom is the simulator gem mine which is created within its premises. This feature provides an opportunity for those who never get to see a real gem mine in Ratnapura (where most gemstones are sourced), to see what a gemstone mine is like on the inside;
The Gem Museum
The on-site gem museum in Tiesh offers its guests an insight into the structure and stratification of various crystals and gemstones. It holds some unique gemstones and rare specimens of precious stones; while also featuring some old equipment used to source the gemstones and create handmade jewelry.
