A Brief History Of Kashmir Sapphires

The name sapphire is derived from the Latin word “saphirus” and the Greek word “sapheiros,” both meaning blue, some believe that the name is derived from its association with the planet Saturn. Rulers of ancient Persia believed that the sky was painted blue by the reflection of the gemstones. Sapphires have been greatly prized since 800BC. and are believed to symbolise wisdom, virtue, good fortune, and holiness for royals.
 

The most unique colour of sapphire is a cornflower blue, known as Kashmir sapphire or Cornflower Blue sapphire. Kashmir sapphires are rare, famous and sought after due to their outstanding quality and were discovered in 2 mines located in a remote part of the Himalaya Mountains.
 

The first mine known as the Old Mine was first discovered after a landslide in the Pádar region of the Chinab Valley in Kashmir and were located at a very high altitude, and was very difficult to access. The "New-Mine" deposits were found a few years later in the same region where the old mine was located. The sapphires discovered in the "Old-Mine" and the "New-Mine" are collectively known as genuine "Kashmir sapphires".

It is possible to determine a sapphire to be a Kashmir-mine gemstone based on the inclusion patterns and other characteristics as observed under a microscope. Although the detailed records from that period are minimal, most research done by gemmological labs later on recorded many microscopic features typical to these mines. These features include homogeneous turbid zoning, frosted-veil type inclusions and other unique inclusion patterns. Mines from this region are the oldest in the Kashmir valley, and are world renowned for their fine quality sapphires.
 

The mining of these sapphires took place in the latter part of the 19th century, when the mines were controlled by Ranbir Singh, the Maharajah of Kashmir and then by his son Maharaja Pratap Singh, subsequently, the mines became exhausted. Occasionally, some deposits have been found from the surrounding areas (mostly of lower quality) but hardly any mining activity has taken place in the Kashmir valley since the 1940s. Most of the Kashmir sapphires remained with the royal family until the independence, after which, they were traded by gemstone dealers and merchants in India.
 

This makes Kashmir sapphires very rare and difficult to obtain and they therefore command very high prices.