Kashmiri Sapphire: A gem of gems

Kashmiri Sapphire: A gem of gems
   A Tale of Two Generations: A Story from the Ancient Indus Valley Civilization

People already know the story of the unfortunate gem called" Kohinoor" , whose story bears similarities with 
that of Helen of Troy, for whom Greeks sailed in thousand ships to sack the city of Troy. Kohinoor so much attracted the British crown that they captured India for it.

Indian subcontinent is famous for its rich deposits of precious stones . From the early Vedic periods , gemology has remained a great important art to learn , and there are thousands of years old texts on this subject .

Right from the beginning , three stones are ranked as the highest among the gems of the subcontinent; these are Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald. Out of these Ruby being affiliated with the Sun god, is considered as the most precious , and Sapphires come next.

Kashmiri Sapphire, in the word of Keats,  is famous for its " sapphire regioned star" of five points, clearly visible . These Kashmiri Sapphires were discovered in the late nineteenth century ,  when the members of a Caravan, going to Delhi from Afghanistan Via Kashmir , found these stones. 

According to the tradition they sold them for salt bags and after a few days those stones were found in Calcutta costing more than $400000. However, the Raja of Kashmir got those gems back and kept them as a part of his personal treasure.

Kashmiri gems are famous throughout the world and there is a great Gem Industry in the subcontinent flourishing on the trade of these gems. There are several gemology institutes. One such institute is recently established in Peshawar(Peshawar Institute of Gemology) , a city where one can find any kind of gems at a viable cost.