Indian sapphire from Kashmir sells for a record Rs 20 crore

Kounteya Sinha, TNN | May 16, 2013, 11.07 AM IST

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READ MORE the record|Jwaneng|Jewel|The star of Kashmir|Kashmir gems

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LONDON: It is turning out to be a great season for Indian jewels going under the hammer.


A 19.88 carats cushion-shaped Kashmir sapphire called " The star of Kashmir" has smashed all records after it sold for the highest per carat price of a sapphire, ever.

The auction of the magnificent jewel by Christie's saw it being sold for a whopping $3,483,017 or nearly Rs 20 crore.

This comes just weeks after an Indian pink diamond Princie - named after a 14-year-old prince of Baroda and belonging to the Nizam of Hyderabad sold for $40 million or nearly Rs 200 crore - a new record in itself.

Christie's said "The Star of Kashmir is part of the exclusive family of the rarest Kashmir sapphires ever to be offered at auction. This superb gemstone combines an exceptional size with a richly saturated and homogenous cornflower blue colour that is highly desired in Kashmir gems"

Another major highlight of Wednesday's auction in Geneva was the record sale of a colourless, pear-shaped diamond weighing 101.73 carats. It raked in raked in a record $23.5 million.

The price, which does not include tax or commission, is the highest ever paid for a flawless colourless diamond.

The American Institute of Gemology has handed the gemstone the top colourless grade "D" and the best clarity grade, "flawless", which is characterised by its "absolute symmetry".

The diamond was 236 carats when it was extracted from the Jwaneng mine in Botswana, before it was meticulously sculpted for 21 months. 

 

 

Figure 1  A selection of both rough and cut sapphires from the famous Kashmir mine. The cut stones range from 6–14 ct. (Photo: Henry Hänni/SSEF)

Supernatural powers were attributed to gems in India. One way this was manifested was the interdependence between gems and planets. Ruby, associated with the Sun, was the Lord of Gems, for the Sun lorded over all the planets. Sapphire was associated with Saturn (Wojtilla, 1973).
The earliest Sanskrit texts mention only Sri Lanka as a source of ruby and sapphire. Somewhat later, Kalinga (northeast India, between the valleys of the Mahanadi and Godavari rivers) and Kalpur (Kalpura; in central India) are added, but neither are today sources of corundum. About 1884, a buried treasure of some sixty rough sapphires was unearthed from a mound amongst the temples atop the sacred hill of Mahendragiri, in the Ganjam district of Kalinga. They were probably placed there as a votive offering at some unknown date in the past. After being cut in Madras, they were examined in by the Geological Survey of India, and pronounced to be of good quality (Brown, 1956).

Timeline of Kashmir sapphire

1879–82 Blue sapphires are first discovered in the Padar region of Kashmir, allegedly where a landslip had uncovered their occurrence (Mallet, 1882; Shepard, 1883; Ball, 1885b; La Touche, 1890). 1882 Sapphires begin to appear in Simla. The Maharajah of Kashmir intervenes by sending a regiment of sepoys to take control of the mines (Ball, 1885b). Delhi jewelers buy up more than two lakhs (#20,000) worth of stones (Mallet, 1882). 1882–87 The glory days of the Kashmir sapphire mine. During this period, crystals as large as 5" (12.7 cm) long by 3" (7.62 cm) wide are found (La Touche, 1890). 1887–88 Declining revenues cause the Maharajah of Kashmir to ask the British Indian Government for assistance. T.D. La Touche is dispatched to the mines to undertake the first detailed geologic survey of the area. He finds the "Old Mine" exhausted and turns his attention to placers on the valley floor, where systematic sampling via pits is done. Placer yields are found to decrease at the lower end of the valley, and below the 1 m level. During 1887, his team finds one parti-colored piece of rough weighing ~6 oz (933 ct)[a] (La Touche, 1890). 1889–1905 Official mining halts, but local poachers continue to dig (Minerals Yearbook, 1906). 1906–08 C.M.P. Wright and the Kashmir Mineral Co. lease the mines. Wright reworks the placer deposits and obtains a number of fine stones. He digs a trench a few hundred meters south of the Old Mine, but eventually gives up, due to the difficulties of mining in such an inhospitable area. Wright's trench later becomes known as the "New Mine" (Middlemiss, 1931). One stone reportedly sells for #2000 (Heron, 1930). 1911 Lala Joti Parshad visits the mines as Mining and Prospecting Officer. He mines the southwest opening of the New Mines, but results are poor (Middlemiss, 1931). 1920 Sohnu Shah of Jammu leases the mines, with poor results. This apparently confirms the belief that the mines are exhausted (Middlemiss, 1931). 1924 Pandit Labhu Ram, Junior Assistant Superintendent Mineral Survey, maps the area of the Old and New Mines. This results in much useful information on where sapphire is found in situ (Middlemiss, 1931). 1926 Lala Jagan Nath of Jammu is given a prospecting license and obtains 5,500 tolas (~64 kgs) of sapphire. His license is revoked due to certain irregularities (Middlemiss, 1931). 1927 Lala Joti Parshad and Pandit Labhu Ram of the Kashmir government extract 39,029 tolas (~454 kgs) of material from Lala Jagan Nath's trench at the New Mines in 15 days. Cutting the material, however, produces disappointing results (Middlemiss, 1931). 1928–32 With the exception of poachers, no mining is done (Brown & Dey, 1955). 1933–38 Systematic mining again commences. Average annual production is 641,656 ct (128 kgs). (Brown & Dey, 1955) 1939–43 Outbreak of World War II results in declining production (Atkinson & Kothavala, 1983). 1944 Geologist R.V. Gaines and R.C. Rice, on leave from the US Army in Calcutta, visit the mines. Theirs is the first trip by Western geologists in many years. They find the mine guarded by a team of police (Gaines, 1946). 1945–51 Sporadic mining by private lessees, with little of quality found (Atkinson & Kothavala, 1983). 1952–59 Sporadic mining by the Kashmir state government (Atkinson & Kothavala, 1983). 1960 The mine is taken over by Jammu & Kashmir Minerals Ltd., a state government concern. They continue to operate at least through 1979 (Anonymous, 1978). 1961 Kashmir government geologist, B.K. Raina, makes a detailed, but confidential, survey of the mines (Raina, 1961). 1966–67 Raina and M.L. Parimoo undertake a detailed, but confidential, mapping of the mines (Parimoo & Raina, 1968). 1967 The Maharajah of Kashmir's political power is broken (Atkinson & Kothavala, 1983). 1977–79 The Indian government discusses leasing the mines, without success (Anonymous, 1977b, 1978, 1979a, 1979c). 1981 D. Atkinson and R.Z. Kothavala make the first visit by outside geologists to the area in many years. Their reports are the best accounts of the mines published to date (Atkinson & Kothavala, 1983, 1985). 1982–present Government continues to discuss leasing the mines, but without success. Muslim guerrilla activity in the mining area increases and, as of 1994, the mining region was considered rebel territory (Cap Beesley, pers. comm., Dec. 5, 1994). a. Although La Touche did not specifically say so, it is assumed these are Troy (apothecary) ounces. [return to Timeline]