Kashmir sapphire: how to know what you are holding

Say the word Kashmir in a sapphire room and everyone leans in. Then the price appears and everyone leans back. Let us look at why.

A very short supply story

The deposits were found high in the Himalayas in the 1880s. The easy pockets ran out fast. By the 1930s the mining had effectively stopped. So nothing new is arriving. Stones simply change hands.

That velvety look

Fine Kashmir stones look slightly sleepy, like blue silk under glass. Microscopic silk inside the crystal softens the light and deepens the color. Burma and Ceylon can match the hue, yet rarely that texture.

Hold the stone in indirect daylight. Glassy and hard-edged? Probably not Kashmir.

Color, in the words the trade uses

GIA describes color with hue, tone and saturation. Hue is the color itself. Tone is how light or dark it runs. Saturation is how vivid it looks. Kashmir at its best is a medium-toned, highly saturated violetish blue.

Reports worth asking for

• SSEF, the Swiss Gemmological Institute, respected for origin calls.
• Gübelin, the same level of authority, especially on estate stones.
• AGL, American Gemological Laboratories, widely accepted in the United States.
• GIA is widely recognized internationally and is especially strong in diamond identification and treatment detection.

Read the treatment line first, then the origin line. Untreated changes the price far more than most buyers expect.

Before you buy

Ask three questions. Is it heated? Who called the origin? May I see it in daylight? A good seller answers all three without flinching.

Looking for a fine blue sapphire in Dubai? Tell us your color and your budget in dirhams. We will source options, share the reports and set it however you dream it.