Vista Capital associate company Soraya Jewelry focused at Gem & Jewelry exports ranging from Silver to Platinum handmade jewellery by master class craftsmen in Sri Lanka.
The Company is headed by the Marketing Director of the group Soraya Cader who has taken the heritage family business in to the 21 st century. Her passionate love of gem & jewelry makes her a unique and outstanding jewelry designer in Sri Lanka.
Over 200 years ago, her ancestors sailed all the way from distant Arabia to the lush green shores of Ceylon, the beautiful island already legendary for its fragrant spices and exotic gems; an island known variously as the “pearl of the orient,” Asia’s “emerald isle,” and “the jewel on the cheek of India.” As you can see, an appropriate land to produce beautiful jewellery.
Five generations ago, Soraya’s forbears on her paternal side decided to establish themselves in this tropical paradise. They began as gem merchants, but soon moved from dealing in rough uncut stones to expertly cut and polished precious gemstones. Her great grandfather M.U.M Salie, was a maverick who set off to make his fortune in Australia unbeknownst to his parents, returning with barrels full of opals and an Australian wife!
He was given the nickname “Prince,” as much for his generous ways as for the fact that he hob-nobbed with royalty around the world, and built himself two homes in Miami, and a “Castle” in Galle, the then hub of Ceylon’s gem trade. Prince M.U.M. Salie won prizes for his gemstones at Expositions as far afield as San Francisco, San Diego, Philadelphia and Chicago. In 1934, he donated his finest jewels to the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, along with the likes of collections donated by the legendary Tiffany & Co., they can still be seen today – Grainger Hall of Gems – www.fieldmuseum.org
Soraya’s great grand uncle, who was also a prominent jeweller, the renowned philanthropist N.D.H. Abdul Caffoor, had the privilege of showing his gems and artwork to the visiting Prince and Princess of Wales in 1901.
At the British Empire Exhibition of 1924 at Wembley, Her Majesty Queen Mary visited his pavilion and bought some of his jewellery. In 1929 he built the first Gem Museum in Ceylon, in Colombo Fort. Soraya’s own father, Shah A. Cader, was a successful businessman who owned a gem establishment in Chatham Street and was a leading exporter of his era, the heart of the capital’s business district. He exported to the Middle East, USA, Europe, Australia and Japan. He passed away at the tragically young age of 37.
The cutting of gemstones to fine precision has been a skill that was handed down from our ancestors for generations. Sri Lanka has been known for time in memorial for being a hub for cutting of gems which flourished along with the gem trade in Galle where our ancestors first pioneered the trade. Our group has continuously been developing and improving the skills of local gem cutters by providing them with the latest technologies and equipment to help assist the growth of the trade hence our group comprises of a pool of talented and dedicated cutters with years of experience.