Kashmir sapphire valued at up to €200,000 at Adam's
The celestial blue gemstone's name derives from the Latin word sapphirus, which means blue. In ancient Greece it was believed that the sky was a reflection of a giant sapphire upon which the world rested. The Egyptians used sapphires in healing, while elsewhere they were worn to connect the wearer to the spirit world.
Sri Lanka
has the longest history of sapphires; it was once known as Ratna-Dweepa – Gem Island. But sapphires from the rugged Zanskar range of the Himalayan mountains in Kashmir, northwest
India
, are the rarest and most sought after.
And so, it was with great excitement that Claire-Laurence Mestrallet, head of the jewellery and watch department at
Adam's
auction house, discovered that she had a Kashmir sapphire among her lots for the Fine Jewellery and Watches auction on May 13th.
READ MORE
'The sapphire was tested at the gemmological lab and the result was only communicated to me shortly after the catalogue had gone to print,' she says. 'Once the sapphire was identified as being from Kashmir, the estimate went from €8,000-€12,000 to €150,000-€200,000.'
Conscious that buyers might be nonetheless cautious, Mestrallet sought further confirmation of the sapphire ring's Kashmiri origin by having it tested at the world-renowned
Swiss Gemmological Institute
(SSEF). Late last week, she got confirmation that meticulous microscopic observation of the gemstone revealed that it is indeed a high quality Kashmir sapphire.
Kashmir sapphires are prized for both their unique colour and texture – a vivid and well saturated blue sometimes described as cornflower blue with a slightly velvety appearance – and their rarity, according to Michael S Krzemnicki of the SSEF.
They were first found when a landslide in the Zanskar mountains in 1881 exposed a 30m-wide (100ft) area of pegmatitic rock with blue crystals. Locals began to trade the stones for salt but by 1882, the blue gemstones had reached Delhi and other areas of India. A geologist from the Geological Survey of India revealed their mineralogical and chemical properties that same year.
Harsh weather made extracting the stones difficult and miners were only able to do so during the summer months. However, the original mine was depleted by 1888, in spite of attempts by British surveyors to create another landslide in search of more sapphires.
'Kashmir sapphires have tripled in value in the last decade and this Kashmir sapphire and diamond ring is part of a private collection of eight pieces, which the French seller inherited from his parents,' says Mestrallet.
Rare cultured pearl clip pendant brooch, circa 1940 (€5,000-€7,000), Adam's Fine Jewellery and Watches auction
Other striking pieces in the auction include a rare cultured pearl clip pendant brooch, circa 1940 (€5,000-€7,000), and a rare pair of cultured pearl pendant ear clips (€8,000-€10,000). Both these pieces, with their cluster of grapes design – and a Bombé-style cultured pearl ring (€15,000-€20,000) – were made by Parisian jewellery designer René Boivin.
Cultural pearl pendant ear clips (€8,000-€10,000)
Bombé-style cultured pearl ring (€15,000-€20,000), made by René Boivin
Staying with the theme of jewellery and watches, it's interesting to hear that Nomadic Watches, the independent Belfast-based watch brand, will open a store in its home city in June, so customers can see watches being assembled.
Founded in 2021 by Peter McAuley, the watch brand was inspired by Belfast's shipbuilding history and is named after the SS Nomadic, the last remaining White Star Line vessel in the world (you can visit the ship in the dry dock just across from the Titanic Museum in Belfast).
'I firmly believe that in a world filled with artificial intelligence, people value a meaningful in-person experience more than ever,' says McAuley.
'Speaking face-to-face with an expert, getting hands on with a watch and immersing themselves in an incredible retail environment is not something you can replicate online. We see this space as less about retail and more about connecting with people.'
The Nomadic Watches Belfast store is due to open in June
Customers will also be able to observe the watches being assembled. Prices of these modern, durable watches used by divers and other adventure seekers, are between £1,000 and £1,500 (€1,174-€1,761).
And finally, for lovers of country houses and their beautiful gardens, there is an opportunity to hear two experts share their knowledge and expertise in the historic setting of Nun's Cross church, Killiskey, Ashford, Co Wicklow on Friday, May 16th at 7.30pm.
Robert O'Byrne will speak about country houses and gardens at the Co Wicklow event. Photograph: RTÉ
Robert O'Byrne, art and architectural historian, erstwhile writer of this column and author of books including The Irish Country House: A New Vision, and Seamus O'Brien, renowned plantsman, author and manager of the National Botanic Gardens at Kilmacurragh in Co Wicklow, will speak about country houses and gardens at the event.
Tickets are €22.50 and available on Eventbrite. All funds will go to the ongoing restoration of this fine Gothic Revival church, with its striking collection of stained glass windows and items in wood, stone and marble from the Arts and Crafts era.
Adams.ie
;
nomadicwatches.com
What did it sell for?
A carved marble head of a philosopher, Adam's
Carved marble head of a philosopher, possibly Roman
Estimate
€1,000-€1,500
Hammer price
€32,000
Auction house
Adam's
Chanel Grand Shopper tote bag
Chanel Grand Shopper
Estimate
£700-£1500
Hammer price
£1,000 (€1,174)
Auction house
Ross's
Coco Chanel wheat table
Wheat table
Estimate
€600-€900
Hammer price
€3,000
Auction house
deVeres
George IV mahogany writing desk
George IV writing desk
Estimate
€6,000-€8,000
Hammer price
Unsold
Auction house
Adam's
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Times
5 days ago
- Irish Times
Let's inconvenience some oligarchs before we come for exhausted mothers
It's just not sustainable , my friend and I say together. We're talking about her work /life imbalance, the juggling of domestic and professional responsibilities that has her absurdly multitasking, barely pulling it off, always failing someone or something, always guilty. (In case you were wondering, no, the answer is not that she should stay at home in a frilly apron baking cupcakes instead of practising medicine. The answer is that adequate childcare should be available and affordable.) Something sustainable is literally something that can be held up, from the Latin 'tenere' as in 'tenacious'. If a course of action is depleting resources faster than they are generated, causing a net loss, it's unsustainable because sooner or later there will be nothing left. Harvesting peat is the obvious local example but others would include losing weight, overwork and lack of rest. We're used to sustainability as a buzzword around care for the environment, and often such terms feel reproachful, as if we're being told off for using too much, taking more than our share. We should buy less, throw away less, drive less, fly less. It feels as if what's sustainable for the planet is unsustainable for individuals trying to survive capitalism, as if living sustainably is another demand to do more with less. It doesn't have to be that way. [ Sarah Moss: 'I'm a classic first child. A driven overachiever. Slightly neurotic' Opens in new window ] I've always thought it's deeply unfair to position new parents like my friend at the sharp end of green scolding. Especially when space and money are tight, disposable nappies are a godsend to a household and also horrible for the environment. You can transport babies on bicycles – people do it all the time in places with safe cycling infrastructure – and you can get pushchairs on buses and trains, but in Dublin it's not easy, pleasant or reliable. Maybe let's inconvenience some oligarchs before we come for the exhausted mothers, and while we're at it provide a subsidised laundering service for cloth nappies. READ MORE Human energies also need care, which is not in opposition to but part of care for human environments. Much of our excessive consumption comes from various kinds of scarcity: time, affordable fresh food, active transport infrastructure and reliable public transport. Some people are obviously making active choices to prioritise their own egos and individual power over everyone else's health and safety (SUV drivers, I mean you), but most of us are muddling through in environments engineered to create scarcity and to direct us to solve this engineered scarcity by unsustainable consumption. For most of us, the necessary changes must be collective and corporate. Only the well-resourced can consistently resist powerful systems as individuals. I can cycle everywhere because I live within 10km of most of the places I need or want to go, because I have a high degree of control over my own time and the immeasurable blessing of physical health. In this situation, the choice to cycle enhances and does not deplete my life. It is (most days) more of a joy than a sacrifice. It would make no sense to try to insist that people in more difficult circumstances make the same choices; better to change the circumstances. My household's diet is based on organic and mostly Irish fruit and vegetables, delivered weekly. If everyone could eat as we do, more people would be in better health, Irish organic farming would be more sustainable and there would be shorter supply chains and less food waste. But this is possible for us because we can afford the additional cost, I have the time and knowledge to cook and none of us has allergies or intolerances. It's stupid to say that everyone should do what we do unless we also say that everyone should have what we have, which is the truly sustainable position. [ I enjoy Ireland's weather, take pleasure in rain and whinge on hot days Opens in new window ] And so my point is that social justice and climate justice are not in opposition. Some of the reasons for our unsustainable habits are moral failure (SUV drivers, I still mean you), but most are systemic failure, or rather the success of a system engineered to maximise profit and economic growth at the expense of humanity as well as the rest of the natural world. Sustainable behaviour involves rest, companionship and pleasure as well as separating your recycling (but protest the wanton stupidity of most food packaging) and taking the bus (protest the fact that it's late and crowded).
Irish Daily Mirror
17-07-2025
- Irish Daily Mirror
Cleopatra's lost tomb breakthrough as 'miracle' tunnel found under Egypt temple
Archaeologists have unearthed a tunnel beneath an Egyptian temple, hailed as a "geometric miracle". The discovery was made 13 metres (43 feet) underground at the Taposiris Magna site by Kathleen Martinez from the University of Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. The two-metre-tall passage was carved through a staggering 1,305 metres (4,281 feet) of sandstone, a feat that would be challenging even with modern technology, let alone in ancient times. The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities has drawn parallels between the tunnel's design and the 1,306-metre Tunnel of Eupalinos, an engineering wonder located beneath a sixth-century BC aqueduct on the Greek island of Samos. Martinez remarked: "The ancient Egyptians speak to us through their tombs." An Egyptian carving of Cleopatra (Image: Getty Images) Founded around 280 BCE by Ptolemy II, Taposiris Magna has significant historical roots, reports the Mirror US. Ptolemy II Philadelphus ruled over Ptolemaic Egypt from 284 to 246 BC and was a descendant of Alexander the Great's famed general, Ptolemy I, as well as being one of Cleopatra's ancestors. The research team believes that the newly found temple was devoted to the deity Osiris and his consort, the goddess Isis. This discovery is particularly significant in the search for the elusive tomb of the queen, as the goddess Isis was closely linked to Cleopatra. Coins bearing the names and images of Cleopatra and Alexander the Great were unearthed in the temple, alongside figurines of Isis. Indy100 covered the story that Martinez has been excavating Taposiris Magna since 2004, on a mission to locate Cleopatra VII's hidden tomb, and she regards the tunnel as an encouraging sign for future finds. CBC reports that Martinez has dedicated two decades to what she considers the ultimate enigma: finding Cleopatra's tomb. The hieroglyphs of Cleopatra VII can be found at the Temple of Kom Ombo in Egypt Hailing from the Dominican Republic, Martinez grew up with what was said to be the Caribbean's most extensive private library collection. She completed her law degree at the tender age of 19, went on to establish her own legal practice, and later pursued a master's in finance. Her academic journey didn't stop there; a master's in archaeology ensued, and studying history sparked an intense desire to explore ancient civilisations. This fervour turned into a lifelong pursuit to uncover the burial site of Egypt's enigmatic ruler, Cleopatra. Martinez expressed: "If I discover her tomb, many myths about her will be unveiled. I would get close to Cleopatra's sarcophagus first, touch it and tell her, 'The world has never forgotten you, Queen Cleopatra'." Within the confines of the tunnel, explorers have stumbled upon various artefacts, including a limestone block and numerous pieces of pottery. The quest to locate the tomb of Cleopatra and Mark Antony persists, with the forthcoming stages thought to involve investigating the adjacent Mediterranean Sea, given that past earthquakes have resulted in parts of the region being engulfed by the waves.
The Irish Sun
10-07-2025
- The Irish Sun
Lost 300-year-old ship carrying £101M worth of treasure sunk in pirate raid is FOUND off the coast of Madagascar
ARCHAEOLOGISTS have uncovered a 300-year-old shipwreck laden with treasure worth over £101 million. The ship - believed to be the Nossa Senhora do Cabo - was sunk by pirates off Madagascar in 1721 during one of the most infamous raids in history. Advertisement 7 The sunken Nossa Senhora do Cabo's lower hull captured in a photomosaic Credit: Jam Press/Center for Historic Shipwreck Preservation 7 Researchers prepare for a dive off the coast of Madagascar, where the shipwreck was discovered Credit: Jam Press/Center for Historic Shipwreck Preservation 7 Among the 3,300 artefacts recovered from the wreck are pottery fragments Credit: Jam Press/Center for Historic Shipwreck Preservation The Portuguese vessel was transporting cargo from Goa, India, to Lisbon, Portugal, when it was raided. The treasure ship is believed to have been attacked on April 8, 1721, by pirates led by Captain Olivier "The Buzzard" Levasseur, during what historians call the Golden Age of Piracy. The raid became one of the most notorious of the era due to its staggering plunder - thought to be one of the richest pirate hauls in history. An estimated 200 enslaved people were also onboard at the time, and their fate remains unknown. Advertisement Read more world news The Nossa Senhora do Cabo was a heavily armed, state-owned carrack, making its capture all the more humiliating for the Portuguese Empire. After 16 years of investigation, researchers at the Center for Historic Shipwreck Preservation found the wreck in Ambodifotatra Bay, near the island of Nosy Boraha, off Madagascar's northeast coast. More than 3,300 artefacts were pulled from the site, including religious figurines, gold ingots, pearls and treasure-filled chests. One ivory plaque is inscribed with gold letters reading 'INRI', the Latin abbreviation for "Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum" - meaning 'Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews', as recorded in the Roman gospels. Advertisement Most read in The US Sun Brandon A. Clifford and Mark R. Agostini, researchers from Brown University behind the discovery, described the haul as "an eyewatering treasure, even by pirate standards". They estimate the cargo alone could be worth more than £108 million in today's currency. 7 Divers uncover shipwreck of Glasgow vessel almost 140 years after it vanished without trace During the period that the Nossa Senhora do Cabo sailed, Portugal controlled key trade routes between India and Europe, transporting valuable goods from its colonies back to the Portuguese mainland. Advertisement Besides carrying spices and precious stones, the ship also transported enslaved people, who were forced to work in ports and mines throughout the empire. Because of their material and human cargo, ships bound for Europe were prime targets for pirates, who could sell both goods and enslaved people for huge profit. 7 Ivory inscribed with the letters 'INRI' (Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum) Credit: Jam Press/Center for Historic Shipwreck Preservation 7 A Madonna statue recovered from the 1721 shipwreck Credit: Jam Press/Center for Historic Shipwreck Preservation Advertisement The discovery comes as researchers say they found a The San Jose, which was sunk by the British in 1708, was long thought to be lost beneath the Caribbean waters. But academics in Colombia believe that a wreck found near Baru Island in 2015 is in fact the long-lost galleon. An Advertisement Among the items recovered were silver coins minted in Lima in 1707, Chinese porcelain from the Kangxi period and cannon inscriptions dating back to 1665. 7 Site plan of the Nossa Senhora Do Cabo shipwreck excavation Credit: Jam Press/Center for Historic Shipwreck Preservation
