Kashmir as a grading and origin descriptor refers to sapphire from the high-altitude deposits at Sumjam (Sumcham, Sumjum) in the Padar valley of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir, worked principally in two intense bursts during the 1880s and 1930s and intermittently thereafter. The Kashmir designation on a laboratory report is the most valuable single origin attribution in the sapphire trade and supports premiums that frequently exceed comparable Burmese or Ceylonese material by multiples in the fine-quality range.

What the designation means

Kashmir origin is established by major laboratories including SSEF, Gübelin, AGL, GIA and Lotus through trace-element fingerprinting, inclusion analysis (particularly the characteristic milky silk and the so-called Kashmir velvety appearance), spectroscopic features and morphological characteristics. The original deposit produced limited quantities; the available material in international circulation is primarily pre-1940 production passing through estate channels, with very small additions from intermittent post-war working at the locality.

Trade significance

The Kashmir premium reflects three factors: the genuine optical character of fine Kashmir material with its slightly milky velvety appearance under direct light; the historical association of the source with the highest-quality nineteenth- and twentieth-century European and Indian fine jewellery; and the fundamental scarcity of new material entering the trade.

For the working dealer the relevant points are that Kashmir attribution requires a recent report from a major laboratory, that the premium is substantial enough to attract origin fraud, and that any attribution should be supported by current independent documentation rather than older opinions or trade hearsay.