Giving Back

The rugged terrain of Kashmir produces some of the most desirable sapphires and one dealer has made it his mission to use those stones to benefit the impoverished communities in the area.

When is a gemstone’s value worth more than simply the sum of its parts — specifically beauty, rarity, durability and utility? One gemstone dealer believes he’s found that extra quotient. Kashmir sapphire trader Ed Cleveland of Kashmir Blue has an insider’s perspective on the rugged Jammu and Kashmir region that has been his home for nearly a decade. For him, these local gemstones’ value extends far beyond beautifying the fortunate wearer; they provide the means to meet the most basic needs of the inhabitants in this forbidding region.

Cleveland’s love for traveling off the beaten track landed him in the Indo-Pakistani region years ago. But his personal ethos of wanting his life to make a difference came later. His fascination with the Kashmir sapphire and his admiration for the people living around the mining site sparked Cleveland’s plan to put back more into the region than he was extracting. In the years since, he’s come up with a variety of practical ways to meet basic needs for the reclusive tribal communities of the mountains.

To serve the Kashmiri, Cleveland first built a school near Lake Dal in 2003, where he also taught. He has responded when villagers have healthcare needs or need medical intervention and supplies, especially during the grueling winters. Orphans and abandoned children are nurtured and educated at a small orphanage he established in Srinagar. All were financed with part of the proceeds from his sapphire sales.

An Elusive Prize

The Kashmir sapphire, mined only in the Himalayan Mountains of northern India, is perhaps the world’s single most coveted colored gemstone. Its allure lies in its vivid cornflower blue color and renowned silk-like inclusions. These naturally occurring inclusions are not only identifying traits that confirm the stones’ place of origin, but they also assure that these strongly saturated stones will look vibrant under every type of illumination.

“Kashmir’s silk is different, much finer and inherent to its color and value. It scatters the light to remove extinction, helping Kashmir stones hold their color in all lighting conditions,” explains natural gemstone cutter and wholesaler Glenn Preus, of Glenn Preus, Ltd.

The single-source production of these sapphires, combined with their obvious rarity, is key to their desirability. Since it was first unearthed in the latter part of the nineteenth century, the gemstone’s recovery has been hampered by an inhospitable geography and volatile political environment, upping the ante even further. Today, while other valuable gemstones languish in dealers’ inventories, this rare jewel transcends current fiscal woes by commanding consistently strong prices time and again in the global marketplace. Such powerful indicators in the midst of a downturn economy require that dealers reassess their Kashmir stones’ value on an ongoing basis. When considering these values, however, it must be remembered that stellar prices are paid only for untreated Kashmir sapphires.

Premium Prices

The price difference between fine Kashmir and high-end sapphire from other sources has always been enormous. For the closest alternative, dealers first turn to Malagasy or Sri Lankan goods. Historically, ultrafine Madagascar sapphire has wholesaled on either side of $1,500 per carat. But with the embargo on all Madagascar gemstone exports still in effect, that supply will soon dry up. Excellent Sri Lankan sapphire wholesales for twice that much on occasion and Sri Lanka’s similar geological conditions to the Himalayan site result in its sapphires having similar quality and characteristics.

Notwithstanding the record-setting prices Kashmir goods earn at auction, dealers trading in fine Kashmir sapphire in the 2- to 3-carat range offer theirs for closer to $15,000 to $25,000 per carat. Preus understands the subtleties that distinguish various sapphire goods — even those originating from the same source. A 2- to 3-carat vivid royal blue Burmese sapphire with clarity issues detected upon close inspection wholesales in the $1,500 per carat range. Similar-size Burmese sapphires that attain “best of breed” status in terms of clarity and color saturation can wholesale from $3,000 to $4,000 per carat.

Origin Identification

Such huge price differences in similar-looking sapphires require laboratories to be highly adept at separating Kashmir sapphire from that produced elsewhere. Cleveland’s sapphire specimens from both older and more recent finds in Kashmir provide laboratories with critical specimens for establishing a database against which sapphires can be examined to determine their origin.

A key characteristic and visual clue to Kashmir-origin sapphire is the white clay-like matrix surrounding the crystals, appearing on old and newer finds alike. Still, each mine site has its own geological makeup. Cleveland’s Kashmir samples reflect ecological vagaries indigenous to each locale, thusproviding a broader range of internal characteristics for gemologists to study before assigning determination of origin.

Are the glory days of Kashmir sapphires a thing of the past? Some believe that fine Kashmir sapphire can be seen only at auction. Of course, with no official mines operating today, it’s not easy to acquire good specimens. Still, quality crystals are emerging from the region. Cleveland says “occasionally a villager, who has been hoarding old rough for years, will suddenly get a yen to buy something and let loose with some of his carefully guarded sapphire.”

Even for Cleveland, who has made deep inroads into local society in the mining areas, finding good rough takes some doing. Still, he is optimistic about the future. “Geological surveys suggest the mountain is rich with sapphire. I personally know about two other sapphire discoveries in the immediate vicinity. Fine stones will be found — and when that happens, we will be on the mountain recording history.”

In his time living among them, Cleveland has earned the respect of the Kashmiri by trading at a fair price and by giving back to their community. Through Agape Kashmir, his charitable organization, he has established a grassroots program to support communities underserved by governmental agencies. But providing aid, even with no ulterior motive, is not easily accomplished. “A basic type of trust may be created,” concludes Cleveland, “but the people guard themselves and their hearts closely. The Kashmiri are not a people who share their feelings easily.”

Article from the Rapaport Magazine - April 2009. To subscribe click here.