Geographic Origin:
Kashmir - India

Gemologist's Comments on Origin:
Discovered in 1881 in the Zanskar range of the Himalayan mountains in northwest India, the legendary Kashmir sapphires are the most beautiful and treasured of all blue sapphires.

The finest sapphires from Kashmir have a highly saturated color, along with a characteristic "silkiness" or velvety glow that makes them a phenomenon of nature. With the original mines long depleted, Kashmir sapphires are a rare find and among the most prized of all gemstones today.

Treatments:
Unheated with indications of clarity enhancement with oil

Gemologist's Comments on Treatments:
As a business policy, we don't stock heated, treated, or enhanced gemstones. However, some Kashmir sapphires invariably come into contact with oil during their life, from mining to cutting/polishing to selling. This is because oil is commonly used as a lubricant for cleaning/storing rough sapphires and facilitating the cutting/polishing process.

Also, due to their natural growth conditions and recovery methods, almost all Kashmir sapphires contain surface-reaching features. Therefore, the oil may seep into these features even when not intended as a treatment.

For this reason, clarity enhancement - particularly with oil - is a common and widely accepted trade practice for Kashmir sapphires.

While this particular sapphire is unheated, indications of clarity enhancement with oil are observed.

Gemologist's Comments on Color:
Significant color zoning is seen in this gemstone. Color zoning, a common characteristic in gemstones, is when the color intensity or color purity is not uniform throughout the stone.

Transparency:
Transparent with Milkiness

Clarity Grade:
Not Applicable

Velvety Appearance:
This gemstone exhibits an appearance that is classified as "velvety". Such an appearance results from very fine microscopic particles that scatter light, causing the coveted visual effect without negatively affecting the gem's transparency. Gemstones with a velvety appearance have little to no extinction, display a warm glow, and look very pleasing to the eye. Therefore, velvety appearance is considered a highly sought-after trait in gemstones. The most prominent examples of gemstones coveted for their velvety appearance are the legendary Kashmir sapphires.

This item is accompanied by the following gemological reports. We will ship the original reports along with the item.

GRS Gem Research Swisslab report # GRS2025-041625

• The accompanying GRS report authenticates this gemstone as a "Natural Sapphire" of "Kashmir (India)" origin with a comment stating "No indication of thermal treatment. Indication of clarity enhancement in fissures ('oiled')".

International Gemological Institute report # 620407051

• The accompanying IGI report authenticates this gemstone as a "Natural Sapphire" of "Kashmir" origin with a comment stating "No indications of treatment have been found".