Editing Sapphire (section)

==Mining==
[[File:1szafir Madagaskar.jpg|thumb|Sapphire from Madagascar]]

Sapphires are mined from [[alluvium|alluvial]] deposits or from primary underground workings. Commercial [[mining]] locations for sapphire and ruby include (but are not limited to) the following countries: [[Afghanistan]], [[Australia]], [[Myanmar]]/[[Burma]], [[Cambodia]], [[China]], [[Colombia]], [[India]], [[Kenya]], [[Laos]], [[Madagascar]], [[Malawi]], [[Nepal]], [[Nigeria]], [[Pakistan]], [[Sri Lanka]], [[Tajikistan]], [[Tanzania]], [[Thailand]], United States, and [[Vietnam]]. Sapphires from different geographic locations may have different appearances or chemical-impurity concentrations, and tend to contain different types of microscopic inclusions. Because of this, sapphires can be divided into three broad categories: classic metamorphic, non-classic metamorphic or magmatic, and classic magmatic.<ref name="GIA-2007">{{cite web| title=Your Ruby and Sapphire Reports| url=http://www.giathai.net/pdf/GIA_Corundum_7499_050307.pdf| publisher=Gemological Institute of America Inc.| work=GIA| date=2007| access-date=17 January 2013| archive-date=15 May 2012| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120515052118/http://www.giathai.net/pdf/GIA_Corundum_7499_050307.pdf| url-status=dead}}</ref>

Sapphires from certain locations, or of certain categories, may be more commercially appealing than others,<ref name="Gubelin">{{cite web| title=Origin Determination| url=http://www.gubelingemlab.ch/Laboratory-Services/Origin-Determination.php| publisher=Gubelin Gem Labs| access-date=14 August 2014| archive-date=1 February 2014| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201212531/http://www.gubelingemlab.ch/Laboratory-Services/Origin-Determination.php| url-status=live}}</ref> particularly classic metamorphic sapphires from Kashmir, Burma, or Sri Lanka that have not been subjected to heat-treatment.<ref name="Michelle-2007">{{cite journal| url=http://www.diamonds.net/Magazine/Article.aspx?ArticleID=20117&RDRIssueID=20| title=The Kashmir Legend| first=Amber| last=Michelle| journal=[[Rapaport Diamond Report]]| date=December 2007| access-date=14 August 2014| archive-date=2 February 2014| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202100832/http://www.diamonds.net/Magazine/Article.aspx?ArticleID=20117&RDRIssueID=20| url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Brooke Showell">{{cite journal| author=Brooke Showell| title=A Fancy for Sapphires| url=http://www.diamonds.net/Magazine/Article.aspx?ArticleID=39646&RDRIssueID=89| journal=Rapaport Diamond Report| access-date=14 August 2014| archive-date=2 February 2014| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202101016/http://www.diamonds.net/Magazine/Article.aspx?ArticleID=39646&RDRIssueID=89| url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[Logan sapphire]], the [[Star of India (gem)|Star of India]], [[The Star of Adam]] and the [[Star of Bombay]] originate from Sri Lankan mines. Madagascar is the world leader in sapphire production (as of 2007) specifically its deposits in and around the town of [[Ilakaka]].<ref name="Mindat">{{cite web| url=http://www.mindat.org/loc-27802.html| title=Ilakaka Commune, Ranohira District, Horombe Region, Fianarantsoa Province, Madagascar| work=[[Mindat.org]]| publisher=Hudson Institute of Mineralogy| access-date=14 August 2014| archive-date=11 December 2011| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111211142515/http://www.mindat.org/loc-27802.html| url-status=live}}</ref> Prior to the opening of the Ilakaka mines, Australia was the largest producer of sapphires (such as in 1987).<ref>{{Cite book| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=auXS_gLKFjUC&pg=PA102| page=102| title=Use with care: managing Australia's natural resources in the twenty-first century| first=Doug| last=Cocks| publisher=University of New South Wales Press| location=Sydney, Australia| year=1992| isbn=978-0-86840-308-3| access-date=6 October 2020| archive-date=23 March 2024| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240323110143/https://books.google.com/books?id=auXS_gLKFjUC&pg=PA102#v=onepage&q&f=false| url-status=live}}</ref> In 1991 a new source of sapphires was discovered in Andranondambo, southern Madagascar. The exploitation started in 1993, but was practically abandoned just a few years later because of the difficulties in recovering sapphires in their bedrock.<ref>{{cite web | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20040416190825/http://madagascarsapphire.com/andranondambo.htm | archive-date = 16 April 2004 | url = http://madagascarsapphire.com/andranondambo.htm | url-status = dead | title = Andranondambo | date = 2003 | publisher = Madagascar sapphire}}</ref>

In [[North America]], sapphires have been mined mostly from deposits in [[Montana]]: facies along the [[Missouri River]] near [[Helena, Montana]], Dry Cottonwood Creek near [[Deer Lodge, Montana]], and Rock Creek near [[Philipsburg, Montana]]. Fine blue [[Yogo sapphire]]s are found at Yogo Gulch west of [[Lewistown, Montana]].<ref name="Voynick-1985-2" /> A few gem-grade sapphires and rubies have also been found in the area of [[Franklin, NC|Franklin, North Carolina]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Gem Mining in Franklin, NC|url=http://www.franklin-chamber.com/whattodo/gemmining.php|publisher=Franklin, North Carolina Chamber of Commerce|access-date=11 August 2014|archive-date=19 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140819025829/http://www.franklin-chamber.com/whatToDo/gemmining.php|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The sapphire deposits of Kashmir are well known in the gem industry, although their peak production took place in a relatively short period at the end of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.<ref name="Hughes-2017"/>{{rp|463–482}} These deposits are located in the [[Paddar Valley]] of the [[Jammu division|Jammu region]] of Jammu and Kashmir in India.<ref name="History of Kashmir Sapphires-2019">{{Cite web|url=https://www.thenaturalsapphirecompany.com/blog/history-kashmir-sapphires|title=History of Kashmir Sapphires|date=13 September 2019|access-date=6 January 2018|archive-date=6 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180106231957/https://www.thenaturalsapphirecompany.com/blog/history-kashmir-sapphires|url-status=live}}</ref> They have a superior vivid blue hue, coupled with a mysterious and almost sleepy quality, described by some gem enthusiasts as ‘blue velvet”. Kashmir-origin contributes meaningfully to the value of a sapphire, and most corundum of Kashmir origin can be readily identified by its characteristic silky appearance and exceptional hue.<ref name="Arem-2017">{{cite web | url = http://www.gemsociety.org/article/sapphire-jewelry-and-gemstone-information/ | title = Sapphire Value, Price, and Jewelry Information | first1 = Dr. Joel | last1 = Arem | first2 = Donald | last2 = Clark | publisher = International Gem Society LLC. | access-date = 12 September 2017 | archive-date = 14 July 2017 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170714094431/https://www.gemsociety.org/article/sapphire-jewelry-and-gemstone-information/ | url-status = live }}</ref><ref name="History of Kashmir Sapphires-2019"/> The unique blue appears lustrous under any kind of light, unlike non-Kashmir sapphires which may appear purplish or grayish in comparison.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2015/magnificent-jewels-and-jadeite-hk0590/lot.1860.html|title=The Jewel of Kashmir|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160323154624/http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2015/magnificent-jewels-and-jadeite-hk0590/lot.1860.html|archive-date=23 March 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> Sotheby's has been in the forefront overseeing record-breaking sales of Kashmir sapphires worldwide. In October 2014, Sotheby's Hong Kong achieved consecutive per-carat price records for Kashmir sapphires – first with the 12.00 carat Cartier sapphire ring at US$193,975 per carat, then with a 17.16 carat sapphire at US$236,404, and again in June 2015 when the per-carat auction record was set at US$240,205.<ref name="Sotheby" /> At present, the world record price-per-carat for sapphire at auction is held by a sapphire from Kashmir in a ring, which sold in October 2015 for approximately [[United States dollar|US$]]242,000 per carat ([[Hong Kong dollar|HK$]]52,280,000 in total, including buyer's premium, or more than US$6.74 million).<ref name="Sotheby">{{cite web | url = http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2015/magnificent-jewels-and-jadeite-hk0590/lot.1860.html | title = 1860: THE JEWEL OF KASHMIR, Exceptional Sapphire and Diamond Ring | work = Magnificent Jewels & Jadeite | publisher = Sotheby's | access-date = 12 September 2017 | archive-date = 23 March 2016 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160323154624/http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2015/magnificent-jewels-and-jadeite-hk0590/lot.1860.html | url-status = live }}</ref>