Sparkle and resilience are words often linked to gemstones, but they also describe the life of Lasantha De Fonseka, visionary entrepreneur and Founder of the jewellery brand Tiesh Sri Lanka.
His journey from a childhood of hardship in Kandy to building one of Sri Lanka’s most respected jewellery brands was neither smooth nor guaranteed. It was shaped by risk, relentless work, and an ability to adapt when circumstances shifted.
With a legacy spanning over two decades, Lasantha’s journey is as multifaceted as the gemstones he passionately promotes. From humble beginnings in a lower-middle-class household raised by a single mother to becoming the driving force behind one of Sri Lanka’s largest and most prestigious jewellery houses, his story is one of grit, vision, and relentless dedication.
That story now lives in his memoir ‘The Story Behind the Sparkle.’ First written in Sinhala as ‘Minipetha Mudunata Didulana Gamanak’ and now available in English, the book traces how a boy raised by a single mother with few resources built a thriving business in a volatile industry.
It is both a deeply personal account and a portrait of Sri Lanka’s changing business landscape — from the golden days of pre-civil war tourism to the challenges of running an independent company through decades of upheaval.
The Sunday Morning Brunch sat down with Lasantha to talk about why he chose to share his life now, the turning points that defined him, and the lessons he hopes new entrepreneurs will take away.
Lasantha shared that the idea for a memoir came from the people closest to him. “If anyone reads this story, they will see that there have been so many unique incidents that made me come this far,” he said.
“I started from the bottom of society with my mother. Very few women went through what she faced at such a young age; she became a single mother, had to raise three children with no income, and depended on relatives for help. Friends and family used to say there’s so much beauty in this story. They told me, if you don’t write it down now, when you are no more no one will know how Tiesh came to light.”
A friend also introduced him to Sujith Akkarawaththa, who would go on to pen ‘Minipetha Mudunata Didulana Gamanak.’ “Usually, he [Sujith] doesn’t do biographies, but my friend said: ‘Tell him your story and see if he will take it on as a challenge.’ We met once a week for six months. Each time I shared my life, and he picked the ingredients to create a story where the reader would stay curious.”
The book was first written in Sinhala and has now been translated into English as ‘The Story Behind the Sparkle.’ The response to his memoir has surprised Lasantha. “I got a lot of feedback. People said once they started reading, they couldn’t stop,” he said.
Lasantha’s early life was marked by scarcity. He studied at Dharmaraja College, Kandy, and then joined the Ceylon Tobacco Company as a casual worker, eventually becoming permanent.
In 1978, a mercantile union strike forced a decision. “I had to choose — go back to the safety of my role or take a leap into the unknown,” he recalled. “It was a life-changing moment. I decided not to go back. It was risky and I didn’t know what I would do next.”
He tried small ventures. One of the first was buying LP records, copying them onto cassettes, and selling to tourist shops. “My first investment was about Rs. 250 for a box of cassettes. I made around Rs. 500. That was the beginning of building a little capital,” he said.
By 1982, tourism in Sri Lanka was booming. Lasantha opened a handicrafts shop for visitors. “The 1970s to 1982 were the best period for tourism,” he said. “Tourists had beautiful memories, systems were easy, and people were welcoming.”
That optimism ended abruptly with the 1983 riots. “After that, it was a roller coaster. Every year, some incident disturbed tourism. But I kept going, making sacrifices to keep the business alive.”
Opening a proper showroom for handicrafts took courage and resourcefulness. “We started with a Rs. 100,000 loan from Bank of Ceylon. We got a skeleton building from a church to build part of the shop. Friends gave goods on consignment. Tourism was picking up again. That’s how we started,” he said.
For the first 15 years, Lasantha focused on handicrafts under the banners Lakmini Ltd. and Lakshila (taken from Lanka Shilpa). The shift into gems came after a friend’s advice in the 1990s.
“A schoolmate told me: ‘Since you already have tourists and travellers, branch into gems — that’s where the money is,’” Lasantha said, sharing that this prompted his first trip to Ratnapura in 1995.
“I had never been there in that capacity and had no knowledge. It was unaffordable earlier. But if I wanted to branch out, I had to know the bottom of the industry. I met miners and dealers, and learnt about rough stones and rare gems, as well as how to get clean stones,” he said.
That trip shaped his model for selling gems, because Lasantha also saw just what would encourage travellers to invest in gemstones and gem jewellery, and that is part of what has defined the Lakmini and Tiesh model ever since.
“Generally, when tourists walk into a shop, they have no real interest in buying something. So I thought, you need a proper museum to explain why gems are expensive. You need a video presentation, staff who can explain in different languages, and a workshop where they can see jewellery being handmade. If they are interested after that, then you take them to the showroom,” he explained.
“Other places show stones the moment you enter and it’s an obvious sales pitch. I built an educational experience first and then talked about selling. I think that’s why we had such a good response.”
The jewellery business first ran under older brand names, but Lasantha wanted a fresh identity for his children to inherit.
“My daughter Thiyasha and son Ayesh were studying overseas. I wanted them to come back and take an interest in the business and feel a strong family connection to it. So we combined their names — Thiyasha and Ayesh — and created Tiesh. It felt personal and interesting for their generation and for their lifestyles,” he said.
Tiesh grew into two landmark spaces: the original flagship Kandy emporium — the largest of its kind in Sri Lanka — and a more recently opened prime showroom in Colombo’s Kollupitiya. Both include a gemological museum, testing laboratory, auditorium, and fully equipped jewellery workshops.
Sri Lanka’s fine jewellery trade is usually inherited. Lasantha began with no legacy, no capital, and no safety net. His journey is both deeply personal and a record of a country’s changing business landscape: the boom of 1970s tourism, the collapse after 1983, and the quiet resilience of small entrepreneurs through decades of turmoil.
Reflecting on the ups and downs of the last four-plus decades, Lasantha was clear about what his toughest challenge (and also his greatest strength) has been. “You may have showrooms and gems to sell, but if you don’t have faithful, reliable staff, you can’t succeed,” he said. “This is a very trust-based industry. Every evening, we must count everything before closing. Each staff member has a great sense of responsibility and trust.”
Lasantha added that trust came from how you treated people. “We have been very lucky. We’ve never had shoplifting or robberies. That’s because of the staff’s commitment and dedication. I treat them like family, and in return, they look after the business and me.”
On the biggest trends over the years, Lasantha shared some insight in knowing your customer. “Some tourists go for small souvenir stones or semi-precious pieces in silver. Others buy personal jewellery and don’t mind spending more when they know we produce the best blue sapphires,” he said.
“Originally, our market was very European; they like blue sapphire because of the colour and because it suits their skin tone. Of course, it varies from person to person. Big sales are rare, maybe 1%. Mostly, it’s average-priced stones and jewellery for personal use. Some wealthy buyers purchase them as assets or to be kept in the family.”
Looking back, though, one of Lasantha’s most treasured milestones goes beyond business: his children. “Having a daughter and a son was one of my happiest times,” Lasantha said. “Then, it was seeing them join and run the company. And of course opening the Kandy and Colombo showrooms, especially the large one in Kandy. Those were big moments.”
At the end of it all, Lasantha hopes that ‘The Story Behind the Sparkle’ will encourage others like him — those starting out on journeys of their own to build something that lasts — to keep going despite difficulty.
“When you think of entrepreneurship, they say the sky’s the limit. If someone reads my story — how I started and how I raised the business to this level — they will know: never give up, no matter what the circumstances are,” he said. “Somehow manage your business and personal life together well.”
He emphasised that success was not instant. “It takes consistent effort, openness to learning, and the courage to take risks,” Lasantha said. “You must learn even from your employees. And you must never stop adapting. With this memoir, I wanted people to know how this all happened. It wasn’t easy. But it was possible.”
‘The Story Behind the Sparkle’ is available in English and Sinhala at leading bookstores and online platforms
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