Kashmir sapphire ring fetches Rs 46 crore at Geneva auction

May 15, 2015 00:46

A prize 35-carat sapphire from Kashmir has fetched $7.3 million (Rs 46 crore), according to the auction house Christie's.

The sale, to a private anonymous Asian buyer, set a world record for a Kashmir sapphire at $209,689 per carat, Christie's said in a statement.

Kashmir sapphires are sought after for their rich cornflower blue or velvety blue color.

Sapphire-bearing rock deep in the northwestern Himalayas was exposed in a rock slide in 1881, prompting a rush of mining activity. The mines were exhausted by the 1930s.

The cushion-shaped sapphire ring that sold Wednesday is set with triangular-cut diamond shoulders and baguette-cut diamonds elsewhere, mounted in gold. The sapphire is of the notable velvety hue often compared to the color of a peacock's neck feathers.

Among other top pieces sold was a rectangular-cut pink diamond ring of 5.18 carats surrounded by an oval of white diamonds. It sold for $10.7 million (Rs 67 crore). The buyer was anonymous.

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