In less than half an hour, a Toyota drove overbearingly. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

This Japanese car is very marketable in Arizona, although the safety factor is lower than that of other cars in the series, but it has fewer problems, less oil and easy maintenance.

Arizona is a desert, the roads are often flat, the Toyota is very capable of running, and the space inside is large, which is very suitable for such an environment.

Boss Owen, who had a big belly, got out of the car and shook hands with Li Du very formally, with a much more respectful attitude than before: "Li, I'm glad to receive your call, please come to my store to talk." Also, you're not kidding?"

Li Du smiled and beckoned, and Godzilla made a strong effort and directly carried out the safe in the car.

Ooku came over and opened the safe, which contained a bunch of small boxes, and when he opened the boxes, he was full of shining gems.

Its color is like fire, its light is gorgeous, and it is beautiful, it is the opal.

Seeing these gems, Owen was immediately moved: "God, you did it! Did you dig opal mines?"

Li Du smiled: "It's just luck." ”

Owen's shop in Winslow is an old jewelry store with an oak door, which looks old, and a couple of old kerosene lamps hanging from the door.

Sophie said curiously, "We passed by here, but we thought it was an antique shop. ”

Owen laughs, "Actually, it used to be an antique shop, and starting with my dad, our business transitioned from antiques to jewelry. ”

Li Du's vision has improved a lot now, he looked at the kerosene chandelier hanging under the eaves of the door, and said, "They are not props, but real antiques, right?"

At the mention of these chandeliers, Owen put a proud smile on his face and said, "Yes, man, I have to say, you have a great eye. ”

"These four chandeliers have been handed down from my ancestors, at least 200 years old, and they are the signs of our shop. ”

Sophie was surprised and said, "Two hundred years? my God, Arizona wasn't part of the United States at that time." ”

Owen said proudly: "When our family came to Winslow, it was still a wilderness, and even the whole of Arizona was a big wilderness, and gradually, it developed. ”

Compared to the quaint shops, the interior decoration is much more modern.

The overall layout of the store is a bit like a maze, with bulletproof glass counters in a circle, and you can see the counters all around when you walk inside.

The store is not big, the business is not small, and there are six employees working inside.

The counters are filled with gems and minerals of various colors, and there are magnesium lights in the corners of each counter, and the shining stones are beautiful.

Owen brought Li Du into the office, and Godzilla and Ooku stood on both sides of the door with their hands on their lower abdomen very consciously, expressionless and majestic.

Seeing them, a few people who were picking up jewelry in the store asked the waiter, "What is the identity of this gentleman?" ”

The waiters looked at each other, and they didn't know this.

Li Du and Sophie sat down in the office, and Owen first asked them what they had to drink.

After staying in the wilderness for two days, Li Du didn't want to drink and asked for boiled water, and Sophie obediently followed him and asked for water.

Owen hurriedly greeted them, and two other connoisseurs in their fifties and sixties came in to identify the stones.

Opals have been valued since they were discovered in ancient Rome.

In the 80s of the 20th century, when the monthly salary of Chinese people was less than 100 yuan, the price of top black opal per carat started at 450 US dollars, and it was as high as 7,500 US dollars per carat for more than 10 carats.

Of course, there is a premise here, and that is top-of-the-line black opals.

In recent years, the value of jewellery has risen further due to the relatively peaceful global situation.

In the past 10 years, the average appreciation of opal has been about 10 times, and the 50-carat opal raw stone that sold for 50,000 yuan around 2001 is now selling for about 250,000 US dollars, equivalent to 5,000 US dollars per carat.

As the value of opals continues to rise, production is gradually declining, so there are some fakes on the market, such as patch opals and synthetic opals, which appraisers are here to do.

Drinking water, Li Du asked, "Are there many fake opals?"

"A lot, but not to deceive customers, but has become a new jewelry material, and a lot of people can't afford natural opals and choose to buy artificial opals because it's just as beautiful," Owen said. ”

Identifying the authenticity of opals is much simpler than identifying diamonds, rubies, etc., and merchants will not use this thing to fool customers.

Therefore, when purchasing, the merchant will explain whether it is a combination or synthesis of opals, which are of low value and do not lose the beauty of opals, which can attract many consumers.

The two appraisers are very fast, and at the end of each appraisal, they will write an evaluation on a small card, rather than just saying whether it is true or false.

Li Du didn't know much about opals, so he took this opportunity to learn, and he followed the two appraisers, constantly watching their evaluations and asking questions.

Opal is not hard, comparable to glass, has a glass-to-resin luster, and is a crystalline state of amorphous matter.

Appraisers use two identification methods, physical and chemical, and physical identification should use a large magnifying glass.

"You see, if you zoom in, the natural opal spots are irregular and flaky, with flat and blurred borders and a silky appearance. ”

"Looking at this again, through the optical display glass, natural opal stone has a special optical effect, this is the illusion effect, this is the cat's eye effect. ”

"The cat's eye effect is rare, and once it happens, it proves that the value of this opal is very high, and it has to be taken out separately and negotiated. ”

Appraisers not only determine the authenticity but also the grade of the gemstone.

There are a variety of schemes for the grading of opals, and the common ones are divided according to the number of body colors and color changing colors, such as single color, three colors, five colors, and seven colors.

Among them, generally speaking, the more the number of color changes, the greater the color change intensity, and the higher the value.

In addition, there are other factors that need to be taken into account in grading, such as body hue, brightness, pattern pattern, color layer thickness, blemish condition, and color-changing games, all of which play an important role in the value evaluation of opals.

Li Du still underestimated this gem, he had never heard of it in China before, so he thought that this thing was a niche thing, and the relevant knowledge was easy to learn.

In fact, this is not the case at all, and he knows little about opals, not because of the low popularity of this gemstone, but because it has not opened up the Chinese market.

For historical and cultural reasons, Chinese prefer jade and jadeite, and other gemstones are difficult to open the market.

However, in other places, such as Europe, the United States, Japan and even Hong Kong, opal recognition is very high and the market is relatively mature.

Even half a century ago, the high-quality black opals discovered in Australia would not enter the civilian market at all, but would be offered to the British royal family, aristocrats, or sold to the top chaebol tycoons in Europe and the United States, which at that time were the exclusive use of the rich and noble.