Kashmir Sapphires
The beauty and depth of intense, velvet blue color that fine Kashmir sapphires are known for is second to none in the gem world. Today fine Kashmir sapphires are nearly unobtainable with the exception of estate sales and private collections.
In the near 40 years that the mines were worked, from approximately 1880 through the 1920’s, at an altitude of 14,600 feet in the small village of Sumjam in the northern India region of Kashmir, these sapphires became legendary.
The Kashmir sapphire enjoys a hallowed reputation to this day.
Fine blue Kashmir sapphire forms a class that stands entirely alone in the world of fine sapphires. I feel privileged whenever I hold one of these stones in my hand and watch the dance of velvet blue breathing from within these spectacular works of geologic art.
The following is the original account of the Kashmir sapphire deposits when originally found by two Kashmiri hunters, after a hillside slipped away, in 1881 above the small village of Sumjam, Kashmir.
History of the Kashmir Sapphire
This piece is an excerpt from the out -of- print British periodical “The Gemmologist” as printed in the 1930’s.
“For several working seasons after the discovery, the sapphires were recovered by merely picking them out of the exposed face of the cliff, which is made up of decomposed gneiss; and even in this state they were so numerous that considerable quantities of fine large stones were collected.
Then, quite by accident, it was found that the whole floor of the valley was only overlain by a few feet of ordinary earth and rocky debris, and that below that was a thick layer of white pegmatite and granitic detritus which carried sapphires in such large quantities that for a time they could be picked up almost like pebbles on a beach.
The valley deposit sapphires run quite large and have a significant quantity of fine gem sizes with some stones weighing a hundred carats, and up to three hundred carats by no means uncommon.”
As a Gemologist and well-known connoisseur of fine sapphires I am frequently approached to either buy, sell or broker fine Kashmir sapphires.
Having a full gemological laboratory of my own, my gemological associates and I can confirm whether or not a Kashmir sapphire is heated to enhance the depth of color, or the stone is, in fact, a Kashmir sapphire, OR a sapphire from another known locale.
Through a network of Gemologists, private collectors and international financiers I am able to obtain the highest possible monetary offer for you on Fine Kashmir Sapphires. This includes either damaged or beautifully finished Kashmir stones, with original jewelry mountings or without.
While large, fine gem Kashmir sapphires do exist today they are highly valued and eagerly sought out.
Kind Regards, An Association of Senior Gemologists
Please don’t hesitate to contact us for more information on Kashmir Sapphires.