References to the blue sapphire are found in the most ancient civilizations: in Sanskrit it was called sauriratna, sappheiros in Greek, shamir in Hebrew, and safir in Arabic, although the exact origin of the name is unknown. In various cultures, the blue sapphire, emblem of the sky and a symbol of the divine in many religious traditions, has been associated with harmony, faithfulness, and love, and has always held a place of honor among gemstone enthusiasts and Marco Polo already recounted selling sapphires coming from Ceylon to the Grand Khan at double the price.

During the jewels auction, held on 27 and 28 March in Turin by Aste Bolaffi, a ring with a luxury 4,61 carats blue sapphire from Kashmir has been sold for the ramarkable amount of 370 thousand euro (rights included). The stone, with no indication of heating nor inclusion, is characterized by the unique consistent velvety blue colour, the most sought-after and appreciated. The jewel had no certifications stating the origin of the sapphire, but highly detailed gemmological researches, commissioned by the Auction House to the prestigious SSEF of Basel, officially confirmed the important origin: the remote region of  Kashmir, on the north-west of Himalayas.

Blue sapphire from Kashmir

An important moment in the history of blue sapphire extraction is 1881, the year in which a land-slide in Kashmir revealed a rock rich with extraordinarily beautiful sapphires. Word spread quickly and the area, cold and impervious, became overrun with prospectors and adventurers until the Maharajah of Kashmir sent his troops to possess it.

In the five years that followed, the territory was intensely exploited and these sapphire deposits yielded notable gems before gradually becoming exhausted. At the beginning of the 1930's, all of the mines were depleted.

To sapphire lovers, the name Kashmir immediately evokes an image of a velvety, intense, deep, and unique color. Kashmir sapphires do not present shades of gray, green, or violet; they are exclusively of an intense blue which remains unchanged when observed in sunlight, fluorescent and incandescent light.

How much is the blue sapphire worth

Market prices for these gems are among the highest on the market, both because of their rarity and of their unique soft, misty color, which comes from the homogeneous diffusion of light. Other sapphire production mines exist today, but none of them has yet produced gems capable of matching the unsurpassed beauty of the Kashmir stones.

Nowadays, Kashmir sapphires may be found only in antique jewels, from which they are sometimes removed in order to be re-cut and set in contemporary jewels.