Kashmir sapphire deposits
originally found by two Kashmiri hunters, after a hillside slipped away, in
1881 above the small village of Sumjam, Kashmir.
New almost very low ration
sapphires discovered in Kashmir, and in fact most of the Kashmir sapphire that
exists was discovered more than 120 years ago. Kashmir sapphires are so highly
valued because the finest specimens have a superb royal blue color and a
velvety texture due to fine silk inclusions. Some of the best Burma, Ceylon and
Madagascar sapphires come close, but Kashmir sapphire continues to have a
nearly mythical reputation in the gemstone world.
Kashmir sapphires are so scarce
that they rarely appear even at auctions at Sotheby's and Christie's, though
they draw records prices when top stones come on the market. A cushion cut
22.66 carat Kashmir sapphire, set in a pendant surrounded by diamonds, was sold
at Christie's auction in 2007 for $3,064,000, setting a new record for the
highest price paid for a sapphire. Then an even larger Kashmir sapphire cushion
-- 42.28 carats -- was sold for $3.5 million by Christie's in Hong Kong in
November 2008, setting yet another record.
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