816: Chapter 807: This is fake, right?
816: Chapter 807: This is fake, right?
Hearing the conversation between Morgan and the appraiser, Gao Yang had some uneasy thoughts because the large diamond that he hadn’t taken out, which was still lying in his pocket, was the guarantee of his windfall.
However, the issue was that the treasures Gao Yang was counting on were all colored diamonds; if colored diamonds weren’t valuable, then that would be a big problem.
Concerned about the potential income, Gao Yang couldn’t help but feel anxious and said in a deep voice, “No, please wait, Mr.
James, did you just say that diamonds without color are the most valuable?
Does that mean colored diamonds are worthless?
Like pink or black, for example?”
James laughed and said, “No, no, colored diamonds are even more valuable.
What I meant by colorless being the most valuable is in terms of purity, that transparent diamonds without any off-colors are more valuable the purer they are.
For example, lower-grade diamonds may appear brown or grayish in hue, but for colored diamonds, it’s also about purity.
Colored diamonds, compared to their colorless counterparts of the same grade, are much more expensive.”
Learning that colored diamonds were even more valuable than colorless ones, Gao Yang breathed a sigh of relief, and his mood improved considerably.
He smiled and said, “Very good, I have no more questions.
Please begin.”
James took out a small electronic magnifier and carefully examined the diamond.
After a while, he looked up in disbelief and said, “The quality is very, very good, between the highest and the next highest grades, and it’s so large.
Considering it’s a rough diamond of the highest grade, I doubt the buyers would have any complaints.
This diamond is worth five hundred thousand dollars before being cut, at the very least.”
After exchanging a glance with Morgan, both nodded slightly, and then Gao Yang smiled and said, “I like hearing good news.
Please continue, Mr.
James.
I hope the rest of the diamonds are of the same standard.”
The remaining diamonds weren’t very large, with the biggest being about the size of a soybean, perfect for making diamond rings after being cut and polished.
James placed the appraised diamonds to one side and picked out the relatively largest one from the remaining stones before continuing with his assessment.
Assessing the grade of a diamond isn’t something that can be determined with just a glance.
Though James started slowly, he sped up as he progressed.
After James had looked over all the diamonds, he raised his head and said to Morgan, “Sir, among this batch of diamonds, seven can reach the FL grade, the highest grade, and thirty-six are IF grade, the next tier.
The rest all belong to the third grade.
The grading I mentioned earlier is for polished diamonds, which isn’t quite appropriate for rough diamonds, but for the sake of your understanding, it’s acceptable to use the polished diamond standards as a reference.”
Gao Yang nodded and said, “Thank you, Mr.
James.
The thing is, if all these diamonds are from the same mine, can we assume that your assessment indicates that the diamonds from this mine are all of very high quality?”
James hesitated before responding, “Sir, I am a gemologist, not a geologist.
Your question is a bit beyond my scope of work.
However, based on my professional experience, I think it’s reasonable for you to interpret it that way.
As long as the diamonds appraised were not specially selected high-quality rough diamonds, in my opinion, it’s entirely fair to consider the mine that produced these diamonds as one of exceptional quality.”
Gao Yang was very satisfied, while Morgan furrowed his brow and said, “I’m not very familiar with the matter.
Is there a significant relationship between the origin of diamonds and their grade?”
James smiled and said, “Yes, sir, the relationship is significant.
Currently, the largest diamond producers are actually Australia and Russia, but Australian diamonds cannot really be called gem-quality; they are of low value.
Russian diamonds are the same.
That’s why when we talk about the largest sources of diamonds, we think of South Africa, as it’s the largest producer of gem-quality diamonds.”
Morgan nodded and said, “Very good, thank you for your expertise, Mr.
James.”
Morgan was essentially signaling the end of the meeting, and James stood up, shook hands with both Morgan and Gao Yang, and then left the room, accompanied by Nelson.
Gao Yang intended to ask James to check his diamond, but was hesitant, so he didn’t take it out directly.
After James had left, Gao Yang whispered, “Where did we find this expert, and more importantly, can he be trusted?”
Morgan laughed and said, “Of course, do you even need to ask?
If he wasn’t reliable, why would I have brought him to South Sudan?”
Gao Yang nodded and said, “Very good, then he’ll have to help me appraise once more because I wasn’t planning on letting him see the really good stuff.”
Morgan looked surprised and said, “Buddy, you have something even better?”
Gao Yang smiled, took out the largest red diamond from his pocket, and held it in his palm.
Then, he placed his hand on the glass table and slowly opened it, revealing the diamond to Morgan.
Seeing the massive diamond on the table, Morgan caught his breath, his eyes nearly popping out.
After swallowing hard, he managed to say shakily, “My God, this is a work of God, it’s so beautiful, breathtaking.
May I pick it up and take a closer look?”
“Of course, please feel free to look.”
Morgan held the diamond in his hand, glancing at the setting sun through the window.
The diamond displayed a dazzling rose-red color, but calling it blood-red seemed more fitting.
Under the rays of the setting sun, the light refracted through the diamond cast a brilliant red glow on Morgan’s face.
“It’s so beautiful!
I can hardly breathe!”
After uttering this in a daze, Morgan glanced at Gao Yang, then solemnly placed the diamond back on the round table and extended his hand to Gao Yang.
Gao Yang didn’t know what Morgan meant, but he still shook hands with Morgan.
During the handshake, Morgan said seriously, “Congratulations, Gao, congratulations on joining the ranks of billionaires.
With this diamond, you can retire early.”
Gao Yang smiled and said, “I also think this diamond is worth at least a billion.
I hope, as you said, it can make me a billionaire.”
Morgan swallowed and said, “This diamond has magic, it can absorb people’s souls.
I’m not much interested in gems, but looking at this diamond, I can’t take my eyes off it.
It’s magical, so beautiful—it’s the most captivating thing in the world.”
Gao Yang pursed his lips and said, “Getting this diamond wasn’t easy; I almost lost my life.
Just like you said, once you look at it, you can’t look away.
The first time I carefully examined it, it took a great effort to pull my gaze away.”
Morgan urged urgently, “Quick, call James to see how much it’s worth.
Gao, think about it—if there’s one, there’s a second, a third.
If we go into diamond mining and even find two more diamonds like this, no, even just one more, the mine would be worth opening.”
Gao Yang stretched out his hand and said, “No, wait, it’s not quite like what you think.
The origin of this diamond, um, how should I put it, have you ever heard of the Hope Star?
That most famous blue diamond.”
Morgan nodded and said, “I know, the Hope Star is too famous.
Of course I’ve heard of it.
Although I’m not too clear on the details, I remember it was a French explorer who stole the diamond from a temple in India, precisely from a statue.
That explorer met a bad end.
After his death, the Hope Star was passed to Louis XIV, then to Louis XV, and then to Louis XVI.
In short, every French king who got the Hope Star met a tragic fate, then bankers, and then…
I don’t quite remember.
Anyway, everyone who got the Hope Star met a terrible end.
The Hope Star became the Cursed Star until its last owner, an American, donated it to the Smith Institute, putting an end to the tragedy.”
Gao Yang sighed and said, “You should understand why I asked if you knew about the Hope Star, right?”
Morgan’s mouth dropped open, and he said, “Don’t tell me, did you get this diamond from a statue too?”
Gao Yang gave a wry smile and said, “Right, from the eye of a statue, so I think it’s better to get rid of it as soon as possible.”
Morgan was taken aback.
When he looked at the red diamond again, his eyes were no longer as hot as before but had a touch more wariness.
After examining the diamond carefully, Morgan whispered, “Don’t tell anyone about the source of the diamond, don’t mention it to anyone.
With the Hope Star as an example that’s not just a legend, people will definitely not want to buy diamonds from a statue anymore, even if this diamond is really beautiful.
Damn it, just now I was thinking of buying it at any cost to keep as a family heirloom.
Now, I’ve changed my mind.”
Gao Yang gave a wry smile and said, “Right, I was also planning to keep it as a family heirloom to pass down from generation to generation.
But after I remembered that the Hope Star was once the eye of a statue, um, I immediately dismissed that idea.
I need to sell it quickly, even if the price is lower, it’s okay.”
Morgan nodded and said, “That’s the right choice, alright, let’s first figure out how much it’s worth.”
After finishing his words, Morgan called out loudly, “Nelson, please have Mr.
James come over again.”
Gao Yang put away the diamond first.
Once James entered again and Nelson had gone out and closed the door, Gao Yang slowly said, “I’m sorry, Mr.
James, please ensure that you will keep what you are about to see strictly confidential and not mention it to anyone.”
James smiled and said, “Sir, that’s a given.”
Gao Yang nodded, placed the red diamond on the round table, and said softly, “Please, take a look.”
James was completely stunned, looking at the diamond on the table, he said dumbfounded, “Is this, is this fake?
I can’t believe such a perfect thing exists in the world.
It’s red, a perfect red.
Compared to this diamond, the Moussaieff Red Diamond is just like a glass bead.
My rationale is failing to believe my own eyes!” (To be continued.
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