Gemscentric

Written by Julian Robov


Twenty Nine


She would have been a racing car driver, if she was a man. Potch was driving at such a high speed, Rudy said nothing instead sat praying quietly that they reach their destination safely. For Rudy, it was useless to make any comment knowing the consequences. Busaban was comfortably tucked in the back seat reading a romance novel. Not one, but several books were stacked in her handbag. The woman was so immersed in the book only a massive explosion would have had the power to wake her up. And while driving, the supremo Potch was still talking on her cell-phone to someone in her office. It was an amazing scene to watch. He was sandwiched between these two powerful women, and hadn’t a clue how long this relationship was going to last. One was talking, while the other was reading. And Denise was working with her palmtop computer. Rudy’s thoughts drifted elsewhere. Now the car was stuck in a traffic jam near Laksi junction.
He wondered about Prapan’s decision. James had already conveyed the message, and they were awaiting Prapan’s call anytime once he reached Bangkok. James was doing a good job.
He recalled the events that led to their long-term friendship. It was precisely twenty years ago. He was then visiting Chantaburi for the first time, and James happened to be traveling to the same destination. They became friends in the bus and after reaching Chantaburi, they stayed together in a guest house for a few weeks to get a feel of the gem market. They had never seen anything like that before, and the sheer number of gems exchanging hands with a simple handshake or nod took them by surprise. It was then they decided to do something about it. They visited the small scale mines in and around Chantaburi, Bo Rai, Trat and Pailin to get a first hand experience of how it was like digging in the dirt. It was hard, back-breaking, and terribly slow—to extract a small piece of gem from the worthless gravel. Only the thick-skinned, and the ones with perseverance had the endurance to survive the hard labor. The anticipation was still there among the treasure hunters in the belief that someday a lucky gem was going to change their pathetic life, once and for all for good. It was that anticipation that motivated Rudy and James to think about seriously, working together in order to unearth one of the most beautiful gifts of mother nature—to make someone happy.
It was the blue gem which attracted their attention. Later, they heard it was called blue sapphire, even though blue sapphires came in different shades of color. The difficult task was to find someone who was willing to teach the ropes of the trade, and most important of all, identify the gems as blue sapphires. The locals were not gemologists, but traders, and followed passionately their simple tradition by relying on trust and contacts.
While having dinner at a local restaurant, Prapan noticed them, and walked to their seat, and introduced himself as a local businessman. They couldn’t understand what prompted him to make such a move. It was spontaneous. There was a chemical match. The people in Chantaburi wanted more foreigners visiting their famous town, and did all they could to make it happen. He asked about their plans, and the more they conversed, Prapan saw the whole picture. He was thinking in a different direction whether to use them, as a conduit to sell gems abroad. It was just a thought. He decided to take more time studying them, and that was the beginning. He explained to them why the gems were expensive, and how to separate blue gems from their look-alike varieties.
The blue variety of gem species corundum was called blue sapphire, and other colors with the exception of red were classified as fancy sapphires. Blue sapphires were expensive, if one had the luck and opportunity to find a good blue hue. But most blue sapphire types included violet blue, milky blue, inky blue and greenish blue. Prapan recognized Rudy and James had an eye for gems, and he decided to go the extra mile to teach them about quality and price.
Several factors influenced the price situation—color, clarity, cut, carat weight and cost. Political situations in the region, supply and demand, currency fluctuations, trends, identification techniques, consumer education, and much more played an important role, directly or indirectly influencing the value. Lack of an international color grading system also helped to manipulate quality and price. Rudy and James saw an opportunity, due to a lack of an established marketing system to reap the benefits, if they played their cards well. They knew Prapan wasn’t going to teach everything,
but was good enough to give them a jump off, by showing the first steps of identifying the blue gems correctly, and then calibrating the right price for the right customers.
Gradually days became weeks, weeks became months, and months became years, as they strolled the mines, and local gem markets, in order to identify the value of rough gems and see the
potential—to get the best yield out of it, transforming them into a beautiful smiling gem. It was slow, but they were moving in the right direction with the help of Prapan, and each time they met, they were introduced to someone new arriving in the gem market, either to buy or sell. Under the wings of Prapan, they bought blue sapphires on consignment first, and sold them in Bangkok, making a small profit. Then they bought again, and sold to foreigners. The profit was good and consistent. Now they got a taste of their customers likes and dislikes in color and prices. That’s when they decided to get out of Bangkok, to see for themselves what color types were moving in different regions, due to skylight preferences, skin tone and tradition.
First, they thought of educating the ignorant buyers a bit too much. At a later stage that kind gesture became a boomerang. Instead of selling blue sapphires, they ended up explaining the gemological details, and other color aspects. In the end, there was no sale. That’s when they decided to talk less, and instead sought the best blue sapphires that spoke an international language of its own. That choice worked and they never had to look back.
The friendship never faltered, as Rudy and James saw the color of money. Later association with politicians and socialites became a must, and the more they socialized the greater the demand was for the blue gems, because the bubble economy in the region was creating easy-to-become millionaires everyday, and they had the kind of easy money coming from God-knows-where, and blue sapphires became a perfect conduit to parade their wealth and status. All because of Prapan. He became Rudy’s God father.
Rudy woke up quickly. Potch had said something to others in the car. Something unexpected had happened, and Rudy looked up at others for a clue.
“I have to get back to the office urgently,” she commented. Others said nothing. For him, it was a blessing in disguise. They were still stuck in the traffic and in a matter of time, they were going to be back at her office.
“Are you okay?” Denise asked Rudy, as he looked uneasy.
“Me? Oh, I’m fine. I’m fine,” he said smilingly.
“Sorry, Rudy boy. We’ll do it again some other day,” she added. Others laughed at her humorous comment. Busaban was still glued to the book, and after reading the last page, she threw the book in her bag.
“It was disgusting,” Busaban said indignantly.
“What happened?” Denise asked curiously.
“The asshole didn’t marry the heroine. Instead, he ran away with some other woman. I can’t believe this,” Busaban said sadly.
“It’s just fiction. Why do you have to take it so seriously? Take it easy,” Potch urged.
“No, no, no. I’m just fine. You see, it still happens today,” Busaban replied, as if she had some really bad experience in the past.
Rudy said nothing. He just listened wondering when he was going to reach Silom, and do something sensible. The car was moving fast, as she decided to take the toll way to save time. He switched on his cell-phone expecting an urgent call. And Potch was still talking on her cell-phone to someone at her office.
“You know something? I’ve been thinking whether it would be possible for you to accompany me to Hong Kong. I think there are a lot of clients and a good market for your business, and who knows what else is awaiting you,” Denise said purposely.
Potch heard Denise’s comment and winked at Rudy to be careful. She knew Denise had something else in her mind.
“I’ll think about it. I will be in touch with you, but for now I’ve got to put my business back in shape. I’ve got to be in town for quite sometime before I decide to make any further trips abroad. Thank you for the offer,” Rudy said gracefully. Denise liked the reply.
“I look forward to hearing from you. Thanks a lot,” Denise replied happily.
Now their car was in Srinakarin Road. Then, Rudy’s cell-phone rang.
“Hello! Oh! Khun Prapan!” Rudy said while lowering his voice.
“Where are you? I need to talk to you now. I’m at my Silom office,” Prapan said. Rudy didn’t need any more details. He knew it all.
“Anything serious?” Potch asked, as she drove her car to her office parking area.
“I have to be in Silom quick. I mean fast,” Rudy uttered.
“I’ll tell my driver to drop you at Silom,” Potch said quickly.
“Thank you!”
Potch called her driver on her cell-phone giving instructions.
Meanwhile, Denise and Busaban reminded Rudy about a quick get together again. He had no problem with it. The car was on its way to Silom.