Kashmir Sapphires - a Holy Grail!

With gemstones beauty is key, but when determining price provenance and rarity play a huge role - Golconda diamonds are a good example, Argyle diamonds are another. You do pay extra for the location of extraction. Simple as that.

When it comes to sapphires the cream of the crop amongst collectors are Kashmir sapphires: Kashmir sapphires are valued as significantly as they are because they contain only the best specimens. They are noted to have a superior cornflower blue tint with a sleepy quality to them. Most describe them as ‘blue velvet’, and while some Burmese and Ceylonese sapphires come relatively close in quality, only the Kashmir Sapphire continues its reign of King of the Sapphire World. The extreme rarity of this valuable gemstone surrounds them with an almost mythical allure.

Why are they so rare: well the Kashmir mines were exhausted long ago - the mine was closed in 1887. The mine was located in a remote part of the Himalaya Mountains known as the Zanakar range. From the year 1882 to 1887 the mines ere worked day and night until they were totally depleted…

With all this context you might understand why they are extremely rare and seldom come up for sale, BUT in their fine jewelry auction hammered 25th of October, @kaplansauktioner are offering an untreated Kashmir sapphire art deco style ring - with a 3.32 ct center stone (image 3). Bidding starts at 450 000 SEK, which is way beyond my budget… but you can at least go and see the ring to see what the fuss is about. I have seen it live… trust me it is worth the trip!

Is the Kashmir origin a marker of quality? Not necessarily, but everything else held equal they will be more (a lot more) expensive than other sapphires.