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History of the Kashmir Sapphire |
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The following is the original account of the Kashmir sapphire deposits when originally found by two Kashmiri hunters, after a hillside slipped away, in 1881 above the small village of Sumjam, Kashmir.
This piece is an excerpt from the
out -of- print British periodical
"The Gemmologist" as printed in the 1930's.
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"For several working seasons after the discovery, the sapphires were recovered by merely picking them out of the exposed face of the cliff, which is made up of decomposed gneiss; and even in this state they were so numerous that considerable quantities of fine large stones were collected.
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Then, quite by accident, it was found that the whole floor of the valley was only overlain by a few feet of ordinary earth and rocky debris, and that below that was a thick layer of white pegmatite and granitic detritus which carried sapphires in such large quantities that for a time they could be picked up almost like pebbles on a beach.
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The valley deposit sapphires run quite large and have a significant quantity of fine gem sizes with some stones weighing a hundred carats, and up to three hundred carats by no means uncommon."
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While large, fine gem Kashmir sapphires do exist today they are highly valued and eagerly sought out.
Please contact me for more information
at: 888-724-8269.
Kind Regards, Ralph Morgan, Senior Gemologist, Accredited Gemologist's Association | |
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