Kashmir Sapphire | Ruby Sapphire from India
While India''s use of impure corundum as an abrasive appears to stretch back at least a millennia or more (see page 199), the country''s history of gem corundum production is relatively brief. Lowgrade ruby has been mined for an indefinite period, but India did not enter the major leagues of gem corundum production until the 1880s, with the discovery of sapphire in Kashmir.