 | The most famous sapphires in the world are from Kashmir, and they are extraordinarily rare. New sapphires are rarely discovered in Kashmir today, and most of the material that exists was discovered more than 100 years ago. Kashmir sapphires are highly valued because the best specimens have a superb cornflower blue colour and a sleepy quality (due to rutile inclusions) that has been described as "blue velvet." |  |
 | Sapphires were first discovered in Kashmir around 1880. A landslide in the Padar region uncovered the deposit, high up in the Himalayas at about 4,500 meters. Kashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent, lying mainly in a valley between India and Pakistan. A region of great beauty, Kashmir was a princely state in the 19th century. It became a disputed territory after the partition of the subcontinent in 1947, when it joined India rather than Pakistan. The dispute continues to this day. |  |
 | Between 1882 and 1887 the mine was very productive, yielding sapphire crystals of exceptional quality and size. By 1887 declining production led the Maharajah of Kashmir to request geological assistance from the government of British India, in the hope of finding more material. The British geologist found the original mine to be exhausted. Exploration failed to uncover new sapphire. Geological surveys were undertaken, but the marvels that came out of the original mine were never matched. |  |
 | Richelieu Sapphires Sapphire earrings with sapphires of 26.66 and 20.88 carats; $8,372,094 ($176,106 per carat) at Sotheby's Geneva November 2013 sale. Star of Kashmir Cushion-shaped sapphire of 19.88 carats set in a diamond ring; $3,483,017 ($175,202 per carat) at Christie's Geneva May 2013 sale. |  |
 | A 28.18-carat square emerald-cut Kashmir sapphire sold for nearly $5.1 million in April 2014. It achieved $180,731 per carat, setting a world auction record of a price per carat of a sapphire. The untreated gem is framed by 32 tapered baguette diamonds with a mounting by Oscar Heyman & Brothers. A 25.87 carat sugarloaf cabochon sapphire from Kashmir set in a platinum and diamond ring sold for more than $5.1 million at Sotheby’s Magnificent Jewels sale in New York in 2015. |  |
 A 42.28-carat Kashmir Sapphire and Diamond Ring - $3,458,420. |  A cushion-cut Kashmir sapphire ring of 8.91 carats, by Tiffany & Co. |  A 26.41-carat cushion-cut Kashmir sapphire and diamond brooch sold for $3,838,508 in November 2011. |
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