India

Kashmir

High in the Himalayas above the Zanskar range, the Kashmir sapphire mines were worked for only a few decades after their discovery in the 1880s, yet their output set the standard by which all blue sapphires are measured. The finest Kashmir stones possess a velvety, slightly sleepy "cornflower" blue caused by fine rutile silk that scatters light evenly. Long exhausted, genuine Kashmir sapphires are among the rarest and most coveted gems in the world.