`Blue sapphire’ to `black crystal’:  In a first, Kashmir’s `Kohinoor’ to go under the hammer

Srinagar:  Come autumn, the famous black, and blue Padder sapphire will go under the hammer in the first-ever online global auction.

It will be for the first time when the Jammu and Kashmir government will organize an online global auction of precious sapphire extracted from the mines of Paddar.

Officials said the administration has passed directions to the officials of Jammu and Kashmir Minerals to organize a global event for selling precious sapphire extracted from Paddar mines in the last few years.

 “We have been asked to organize a grand global auction of sapphire. Geology and Mining department has extracted sapphire for the last few years,” they said.

 Company Secretary Jammu and Kashmir Minerals Mir Irfan told The Kashmir Monitor that they have started preparation for holding the global auction for the sapphire.

 “It will be a global e-auction for the sapphire. The process for the auction has begun and we will be holding the event very soon,” he said.

 The company secretary said the auction will be held by the Metals and Minerals Trading Corporation of India (MMTC), which is taking various measures to ensure better prices for gems.

 “Currently we are in process of evaluation. Expert gemologists are evaluating sapphire. We want to get the best of the price for our gems,” he said.

 The global auction, as per the official, will promote the sapphire of Jammu and Kashmir at a bigger level.

 “It is an hour of need to promote and market the sapphire of Jammu and Kashmir. Blue Sapphire of Jammu and Kashmir is known the world over. We need marketing at a global level. Buyers from various countries are going to participate in the e-auction,” he said.

 Pertinently,  Jammu and Kashmir administration has completed the process of exploring precious sapphire in the Padder area on scientific lines.

 As per the officials of J&K Minerals Limited, the Geological Survey of India‘s (GSI) preliminary survey for scientific exploration of sapphire mines in the Kishtwar district has culminated.

 Extraction of sapphires from Paddar began in 1885 and the blue sapphire was valued at millions of dollars in the international market. The precious stone, which is famous for its unique peacock blue color, is rarely found in other parts of the world.

 According to thejewelleryeditor.com, “there is no other sapphire that compares to a Kashmir sapphire. Looking through one is like looking at the Himalayan sky as the inclusions in the stone can sometimes resemble wispy clouds. The rich, velvety blue, unenhanced by man, is without peer.”