AWESOME fairly New Find of Hot Pink to Lavender Sapphire Faceting & Cabbing Rough from Batakundi, Pakistan. This material has been coming out for quite some time; however, production is extremely limited and it is rarely seen in the marketplace. The colors on this are very unusual for Sapphire and we have seen some cut stones on this that were just Jaw Breakers; however, it is all about orientation with this material. Some of these stones exhibit color banding and zoning that is common for Sapphire. Overall the material is running roughly 35%+ Medium to High Facet Grade and that is a conservative estimate with the remainder being Cabbing grade with some additional potential of Faceting Rough with a little sawing and cobbing. Most of these are nice chunky sections are confident weight returns should be average or better on most of the rough.

Most of the material has a Velvety Haze that is reminiscent of Kashmir Sapphire and looks almost like Gouda material. We have been informed that this material is treatable by some sellers while others insist it is not. We unfortunately can't give any guidance on treating this material but most of it is lovely as is! Many locally call this Ruby because of the color; however, it is more rightfully called Sapphire! We don't anticipate on getting more of this in as we have only been able to purchase it a handful of times over the last few years and it has always sold directly without being listed on our E-newsletters. This is the first time we are making this material available to clients via our E-Newsletter. This is a give away at our price as the market for this is very limited locally because of lack of knowledge with the locals and therefore, it can be purchased at reasonable rates when available.

1. Kashmir has long been the benchmark in Sapphire perfection; however, production has dwindled to a standstill over the last few decades. There are rumors that mining has been restarted though we really haven't seen any worthwhile material entering the market at a decent price. In addition to Kashmir there are several other locations within Pakistan and Afghanistan that have begun to produce Sapphire and Ruby over the last few years. There is great potential in the Sapphire and Ruby rough that comes from here as it is in its natural state not having been treated. Most sellers out here are looking for sources to treat their material but none seem to have had any luck so far.