When Li Du took out the painting, he also took out the joint appraisal report from the Los Angeles Art Collection Center and Christie's oil painting appraisal experts.
Jacob smiled when he saw the appraisal report and said, "Did they appraise it for you? Potter, things are simple this time. Maybe you don't need my help. "
Potter asked curiously, "Why do you say that, Uncle Jacob?"
Jacob said, "Three of the appraisers for this painting are my friends. I know them well. They are upright and capable, and their appraisal results are authoritative."
Li Du smiled. It seemed that the two groups of people that Roger had helped him find were very reliable.
Although he said that, Jacob still carefully appraised the painting.
He also brought a small machine that could analyze the paint and canvas of the painting.
Li Du asked curiously, "Is this a carbon-14 analysis tool?"
He had long heard of this kind of archaeology and cultural relic appraisal technology, but had never had the chance to see it.
The old man shook his head and smiled. "No, the carbon-14 method is not suitable for oil paintings. First, it is not accurate enough. Second, it requires a large number of samples, but not all oil paintings can provide such a large number of samples."
However, the identification method of this machine was similar to the carbon-14 method. It identified cesium-137 and strontium-90.
Cesium-137 and strontium-90 were two special isotopes that were released from nuclear weapons explosions in the 1940s and 1950s. They had terrifying penetrating power and penetrated the soil layer, plants, and animals throughout the earth.
Among them, oil painting required the use of natural adhesives, which were also the targets of the two isotopes.
Before the nuclear explosion, these two isotopes had never appeared in nature.
Therefore, if experts found these two isotopes in a painting before 1945, there was only one conclusion — this painting was a fake made after 1945.
"What if these paintings were forged before 1945?" Li Du asked.
The old man patiently explained, "Because counterfeiting technology only developed by leaps and bounds after World War II, before 1945, the technology for counterfeiting oil paintings was not mature, and it was easy to distinguish.
"In addition, Van Gogh's paintings only began to dominate the art market after World War II. Before 1945, they were popular but not popular, so no one would spend much effort to make counterfeits.
"Of course, these reasons are not absolute, just for reference. The main thing is to rely on professional analysis and appraisal. From the lines and colors, we can identify the difference between a genuine painting and a fake painting. "
There is no crime without sales. This sentence was very suitable for counterfeiting works of art.
The final appraisal result was the same as the appraisal report. These were two real paintings.
Potter nodded in satisfaction and said, "Then let's discuss the value of these two paintings. If the price is right, I can buy them together."
"Together?" Li Du clicked his tongue. He was indeed extraordinarily rich.
Potter said, "I have an elder who wants to give a gift to an important client. That client likes oil paintings, so I think these two paintings should satisfy him."
Li Du exclaimed, "Using tens of millions as a gift? Your business is too big. "
Potter did not continue this topic. He smiled and said, "I don't know much about this. Let's talk about the price."
The price of the two paintings was based on the market price of other paintings. When he was appraising the authenticity of the paintings, the two groups of experts had already given him suggestions.
Hans was an expert in this area. Li Du had already discussed with him that the price would be negotiated by him.
Hans said, "According to our inquiries through collectors, museums, and auction agencies, 'The Beach of Scheveningen' is worth 32 million, and 'Leaving the Church of Nuenen' is worth 20 million."
Potter was about to speak when Jacob laughed. He stopped Potter and gestured for him to do it himself.
After another long haggling, during which both parties made various phone calls and consulted with various friends, the price was finally set.
'The Beach of Scheveningen' was worth 30 million, and 'Leaving the Church of Nuenen' was worth 16 million.
Li Du accepted this price, which was similar to the price suggested by the two groups of experts. Obviously, the other party was not a rich man and was not easy to fool.
A total of 46 million, and after the two paintings were sold, Li Du's wallet was full again.
He called Roger and Bauer, the lawyer, to complete the acquisition of Norman and Bohr's shares.
The two of them together had one percent of the shares. Li Du had to buy them at the price he had bought Tedrick. At that time, he had spent 11.2 million to buy 0.8 percent of the shares. This time, he was buying 10 percent at a price of 14 million.
After the acquisition, Li Du owned 8.8 percent of the shares in Harry Winston, an important shareholder.
He could not spend the remaining 32 million dollars. There was still a lot of taxes that he had not paid. He had to keep the money to pay taxes, or else he would be in trouble if the IRS came after him.
Having earned enough money from the fire opals, Li Du wanted to go back and continue.
He had already decided to work hard to dig for fire opals in America. After digging for two years, he would help Harry Winston complete its transformation. In the meantime, he would buy Harry Winston's shares and enjoy the dividends.
As for Harry Winston not being able to buy his fire opals? No worries, he could sell them to other luxury goods companies.
In the ranking of the world's top luxury goods companies, Harry Winston's overall strength was not even in the top 50. The other big companies still had a huge market to explore.
After resting for a few days, Li Du returned to the national park full of ambition.
Then, when he was about to rent the land, he was rejected...
Li Du asked in surprise, "Why did you reject me from entering the national park?"
The manager in charge of managing the ticket booth smiled. "We will not reject your entry, but we will no longer allow you to go in to search for gemstones. You have already been honored in our treasure hunting hall of fame."
Li Du was at a loss. "What the heck, what's going on?"
He thought that the incident of him helping Rose deal with Surgi, Hughes, and the others had been exposed, and that it had caused the management of the national park to unite against a common enemy.
In reality, that was not the case. At least, that was not the main reason.
It was Owen who had set him up. Owen had told the national park that Li Du had found more than 30 fire opals in one go.
The national park had a funny rule. If a gem hunter collected more than 24 fire opals in a year, he would be sent to the hall of fame and banned from entering.
This rule was said to protect the precious gemstone resources. According to the theory of probability, it was very difficult for an ordinary person to obtain 24 gemstones in a year. If the number exceeded this number, it proved that illegal means had been used.
Gem hunters all knew about this rule. This rule was actually just a formality. The park security had no right to check the gem hunters' harvest. As long as they did not attract too much attention, they could dispose of the gemstones they obtained. Then, no one would know how much they had harvested in a year.
Li Du did not know about this rule, so he failed...
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