Kashmir sapphire rough is recognized by its mode of occurrence.  Most crystals are plastered with a white clay like surface.  No other sapphire in the world is found with this particularly stubborn adhesive which takes a highly corrosive acid to remove.  The white kaolin clay surface is no surprise considering most minerals are located in pockets of this material along fringes of permatite and marble rock.  A large quantity of crystals are found with corroded surfaces which leave the blue zones of color scarred and deeply pitted as seen in Figure 1. This may account for the uneven color found in many faceted gems today. It is presumed that the original material found in the 1880's contained a higher percentage of more evenly colored, less corroded, specimen.  However, a good portion of the newest material continues to produce beautiful "gem" specimen which are diagnostically indistinguishable from the older material. Microscopic inclusions can be viewed via the following link: Diagnostic Inclusions in Kashmir Sapphire (Photographs) New or Classic
     
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(Figure 3)
 
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(Figure 5)

The size and color of crystals continues to be world class.  The blue sapphire from Kashmir remain to be the most widely recognized and respected gem of its kind, and the miners are now finding a variety of colors.  Although most stones range from colorless to a deep blue, occasionally a red corundum is found. A large percentage less common colors are pink or purplish-pink.  A new color was found in recent years which may be of great interest to collectors. The new stones are a reddish orange padparascha color.  A photo of this new padparascha color can be seen in Figure 2.

The purplish-pink and orangy-red corundum is under 5 carats in size.  A fraction of a percentage has been facet quality.  The blue variety are reported to be as large as baseballs. This author has witnessed stones up to 700 grams.  The majority of the largest blue sapphires over 50 carats are highly corroded with small transparent sections and most often a conglomerate of medium sized crystals intertwined. The stone in Figure 5 (left) weighed more than 65 grams.   This stone was not for sale at a reasonable price. Negotiating for significant gems is Kashmir is true test of patience. It is common to negotiate for several days, drink many cups of chai, and walk away empty handed.

The famous Kashmir mines produce several other variety of stone.  We are finding beautiful blue aquamarine, red-brown garnet, and several colors of tourmaline (Figures 3 and 4).  We find a large quantity of kyanite, black and extremely dark green tourmaline, as well as many types of feldspar in the same deposit as corundum.

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