The few of them arrived at the small building. Li Du brought out the five antique clocks while Hans chatted with Raymond, who looked very sharp.
Raymond's eyes lit up when he saw the antique clocks. He couldn't be bothered to chat with Hans anymore. He quickly picked one up and looked at it.
With just one look, he said confidently, "This is the style of Louis XV. If I were to judge their identity, I would say they are French grandfather clocks with Mersenne porcelain flowers."
Hansen asked, "You mean, the porcelain inside is Mersenne porcelain from Germany, and this clock was produced in France?"
This was different from what Kevin, the grocer, had said. Kevin had said that the box was British, so it should be a British clock.
Raymond shook his head. "No, it's just a French-style clock. It should be made in England, between 1815 and 1850."
Hearing this, Li Du and Hans looked at each other. This old man was an expert. Kevin had taken a long time to figure out some things, but he could tell at a glance, and the time was even more accurate.
Combining Kevin's and Raymond's words, they could deduce that the authentic antique clocks were made between 1815 and 1820 during the reign of George III. They were French-style clocks with German porcelain and British gilding.
Hans coughed and told them the information.
Raymond looked at him in surprise. "You have good eyes. These are not famous clocks. It's amazing that you could analyze this information."
Hans said, "Then how much are you willing to pay for these clocks? I think for anyone who likes clocks, this kind of old art is very tempting. "
Raymond put down the clocks and said, "If they are indeed French grandfather clocks with Mersenne porcelain flowers, then of course they are old works of art."
"What do you mean?" Hans's expression darkened.
Raymond continued, "What you have here are replicas, replicas from the last 20 years. Sorry, they have no value."
This was very damaging to Hans, because they had picked the clocks randomly. The President's Umbrella had told them that out of the nine clocks, only two were authentic.
"We can't be that unlucky, can we?" Hans looked at Li Du with a bitter smile. "All four are replicas? We didn't get any authentic ones? "
Transactions in the treasure hunter industry were built on the basis of information disclosure and fairness. Treasure hunters could not deceive their buyers, and the buyers would generally share the information they knew with them.
If treasure hunters were to sell fake or low-quality items, regardless of whether it was intentional or not, and regardless of whether they knew about it or not, their personal credit in the industry would be lowered, and there would be fewer and fewer people willing to trade with them.
Hence, Hans stayed close to Raymond and communicated directly with Li Du.
Li Du did not answer him, but looked at the old man with interest. "Mr. Raymond, how do you know they are fake?"
The old man said confidently, "Come, let me teach you a lesson. No matter how realistic a fake is, there are many ways to detect it."
He raised the antique clock in front of him and said, "First of all, you see, the authentic antique clock is cast in one piece, while the fake one is made of light and thin materials. It's all assembled and welded with thin copper plates."
"The assembly and welding needs to be done layer by layer, so the gap between the plates is very big, and the surface is not straight. The whole clock gives a floating feeling, and is not as heavy as the original."
Li Du looked at it and frowned. "I think they are quite heavy."
Raymond smiled and pointed to the surface of the clock. "Okay, let's continue looking. Do you think the gold paint on the surface is gilded or gilded?"
There was no doubt that gilding was a modern craft, while gilding was a traditional craft in the early years.
"For a fake, a large part of the cost is in the gilding, so it won't be very thick. There are even cases where the sides and back of the clock are not gilded."
At this point, Raymond raised the clock and looked at it. Then he said, "Not bad, this clock is all gilded. Even if it's a fake, it's a well-made fake."
Li Du shook his head. "Sorry, I really can't tell if it's gilded or not."
"Then we'll have to take it apart," Raymond said. "You guys don't mind, right?"
Of course not. Antique clocks were not porcelain, they were mechanical products. To trade, they had to be taken apart to check the wear and tear of the parts.
He moved aside, and Hans started working with a set of screwdrivers. Li Du quietly changed the clock for him to take apart.
During this time, the old man continued, "The counterfeit parts of the clock will be exposed. We will find screws, nuts, and gaskets of modern specifications, and even relatively new metal materials."
"Also, if this is a two-hundred-year-old clock, then there must be some wear and tear on the mechanism, especially on the area between the box axle and the splint. If there is no wear and tear on this area, then it's not right …"
The antique clock was taken apart, and then the worn parts were displayed in front of them. In addition, the screws, nuts, and other parts were antique, obviously not of a modern style.
Seeing this, Raymond frowned. He thought for a while and said, "Of course, fake antique clocks have to be old, including the parts. But they still can't pay attention to the details …"
"For example?" Li Du asked.
"The parts can be imitated, but the real thing has markings, such as the number, the manufacturer's logo, the year of production, the patent number, and so on. Fake antique clocks may also have these markings, but I've never seen a mark that is clear and concave," Raymond said.
Hans used a hairdryer to carefully blow away the dust inside, and then clear letters appeared on the parts and the core.
In addition, on the base of the clock, there was a line of words: 'May George, Prince of Wales be as immortal as time.'
This time, Raymond was a little confused.
Hans was also a little confused. "Isn't this a clock from the time of George III? Why is it George, Prince of Wales? "
Li Du said, "This prince is George IV. In his later years, George III suffered from mental problems, and the crown prince, George, Prince of Wales, ruled in his place as regent. This also proves that this is a work of George III's later years. "
Hans was surprised. "You're quite knowledgeable about history."
Li Du rolled his eyes. He raised his phone and said, "When Kevin introduced the history of the box, I looked it up online. Coincidentally, I saw this historical record."
Raymond did not speak. He took out a magnifying glass and looked at the clock carefully. He also took out his phone to take a picture and sent it to someone.
After a while, the phone rang. He walked away and said a few words. When he came back, he said, "Bid, how much is this clock?"
Hans asked, "Have you confirmed its identity?"
"This is the real thing," Raymond nodded. "It turns out that I was wrong."
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