Owen could tell that Li Du did not know much about opals, so while the appraisers were appraising the gemstones, he called Li Du to the side and gave him a systematic introduction to the gemstones.
Li Du learned very seriously. The value of opals was very high, and this was a new approach. In the future, he would not only be looking for opals, but also other gemstones.
The appraisal lasted for more than an hour, which was actually not considered long. On average, it took about two minutes for a gemstone to be appraised.
After the appraisal, Owen took over the appraisal report and started to set the price.
Before setting the price, Owen first looked at the opals one by one.
Li Du said, "I thought you would be tired of touching this kind of stone every day."
Owen shook his head. "No, no, no, my friend. If I didn't love it, why would I still be doing this job?"
He raised an opal with an intoxicated expression on his face. "Look, the pattern formed by the color fragments is so unique and wonderful. It's really magical."
"Just some impurities, isn't it?"
Owen said very seriously. "Of course not. This is a world. Wrought iron, straw, chaff, sea of flowers, lightning, and fire. This is God's world."
He turned the opal in his hand. This was not the biggest, but it was the reddest and had the most realistic pattern. It looked like a patch of grass, with some bright red protrusions that looked like flowers in the grass.
The appraisers had already weighed it and evaluated it according to the rating standards given by the International Gemstone Association. Therefore, Owen could directly set the price.
This stone weighed 500 carats, which was about 100 grams. It was considered a high-quality fire opal, and Owen set the price at 500,000 dollars.
Although he was mentally prepared, when he heard that this stone was worth 500,000 dollars, Li Du's heart still jumped a few times.
500,000 dollars was not a lot. He had earned 500,000 dollars from storage units, but this was different from the precious goods in storage units. Such expensive goods were usually only one item in storage units.
However, he still had more than 30 gemstones here, and who knew how many gemstones there were in the national park not far away!
Setting the price of an opal was not an easy task. There were many factors to measure its value, and there was no standard way to calculate its value in the world. This required experience.
Owen did not simply state the price. He would tell Li Du why the price was set that way, what had increased its value, and what had lowered its value.
He also took out a thick album of fire opal designs and prices from auctions and jewelry shops all over the world over the past two years.
According to these pictures, they would compare the gemstones in their hands and give a basic price. Then, they would compare the advantages and disadvantages of both sides and adjust the price within the range of the basic price.
In the end, the price had to be discounted by 20%. Owen needed to make a profit, or else he would not have bought so many gems.
The main factors that affected the value of an opal were its flaws. For example, an opal with obvious cracks on its surface would be worthless. An opal with many small cracks on its surface would also be worthless.
"This sand hole is formed by a kind of mineral impurity. It affects the gemstone's background and causes its value to decrease. I think its value has decreased by 10% because of this."
"Agreed," Li Du replied.
"Oh, this is not good. An opal line. Look at this gray line. This is an opal line, and there are two bubbles. Sorry, mate, it's worth halving the price. "
"Let's reduce it by 40 percent," Li Du said after some consideration.
"Alright, I'll listen to you."
Just like that, both parties continued to haggle, and the prices of the fire opals were finally determined.
Compared to the appraisal process, the pricing process was much slower. Owen was very fair in this aspect. He did not simply quote a price, but instead came up with reasons to convince Li Du.
In addition, some of the fire opals had already been priced out. However, if Owen thought of any problems, he would change the price again and tell Li Du the reason.
During this process, not only would he lower the price, but he would also raise the price. In short, he did his best to convince Li Du.
After the prices of the 35 opals were set, Owen took out his calculator and started to calculate seriously. The highest value was 500,000 dollars, while the lowest was only 2,000 dollars. The difference in value was more than 200 times!
In the end, the total value of all the stones was 3,185,000 dollars!
This was not the final price. There was still a 20% discount, which made it 2,548,000 dollars.
"Let's make it 2,600,000 dollars and give it all to me. How about that?" Owen asked, staring at Li Du.
Li Du agreed readily. "No problem. We'll go according to your price this time."
Hearing this, the corners of Owen's eyes twitched. He rubbed his hands together and said, "You're a straightforward guy, Li. I like straightforward people. How about this? This is our first time working together. I'm very grateful for your trust in me, so I have to give you something in return. "
After thinking for a while, he said, "I know that Chinese culture likes to give red packets to good friends. In that case, I'll give you another 20,000 dollars on top of this price. I hope that you'll look for me every time we work together in the future."
He was provoked by Li Du's words, "this time," which meant that there would be more deals in the future.
Li Du happily accepted the red packet.
In order to win him over, Owen had also put in a lot of effort. He even gave Sophie a pair of fire opal earrings.
The gemstones on the earrings were very small, but very beautiful. The lines on the earrings formed clouds. Together with the fiery red color, they looked like burning clouds.
Sophie was pleasantly surprised. "Wow, what a beautiful pattern."
Owen chuckled. "It's good that you like it. This pattern is indeed very rare and clear."
This pair of earrings would not be cheap. Li Du looked at the pattern and asked, "What do you think if there's a sunset pattern inside?"
"This is a sunset with burning clouds."
Li Du said, "I'm talking about a real sunset. There are clouds and there's also a sun. A sunset that's half covered by clouds."
Owen laughed. "That's impossible. There's no such thing as a coincidence."
"Just a hypothetical." Li Du smiled.
Owen said, "You might know, buddy, that different opals have different patterns because of their different colors. I can tell you that the sunset is the most valuable pattern among fire opals! "
"What if this pair of earrings has such a pattern?"
Owen said without thinking, "Then I can price the earrings at 50,000 dollars."
Li Du said, "The price is not high because the gemstone is too small? What if it's this big? "
He gestured at the size of the Overarching Sunset. "About 800 grams. This big, the texture is very clear, the top is orange, and the bottom is scarlet."
Owen laughed again. "That's impossible …"
"Just a hypothetical," Li Du insisted.
Owen said, "If the kind of gemstone you're talking about really exists, then no one can put a price on it. I dare say that anyone who likes gemstones would be willing to go bankrupt to get it if they came across such a thing! "
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