Gemscentric

Written by Julian Robov


Forty


Jack Quartez had arrived in Bangkok in the late afternoon from New York, and was staying at the Oriental hotel. It was his seventh trip to Bangkok in two years. He had a reason to stay at the Oriental. First, it was a famous one, and secondly he liked the staff, especially the women. For him they were the most beautiful women on earth. One of his close friends had stayed at the Oriental some fifteen years ago, only to fall in love at first sight with a receptionist. He was lucky. He was happily married to Nat—a symmetrical chick, and now was proudly the father of ten children.

But for Jack it was a different story altogether. He had been unlucky till this day, but was still optimistic that a magic moment was in the horizon. He had been to several gem trading centers and mines around the world, especially to Jaipur(India), Minas Gerais (Brazil), Nairobi (Kenya), Phnom Phen (Cambodia), Colombo (Sri Lanka), Arusha (Tanzania), Kaduna (Nigeria), Mogok (Burma) and Jegdalek (Afghanistan)—looking for the right woman with the right curvature and brilliance—tough luck. His eyes recognized women in Thailand—for now as the most spicy and symmetrical species in the world—regarding the rest, as amorphous and mutated for the right or wrong reason.

Rudy joined Seri at the Oriental hotel lounge. Jack met with Rudy and Seri, and later they decided to discuss business at Holiday Inn’s Window-on-Silom restaurant.
“So how can we help you?” Seri said. “Newin told me everything about you.”
“Newin has been a good broker for so long, and I believe you have the kind of blue sapphires I am looking for. Have we met before, Mr Rudy? Can I call you Rudy,” Jack asked.
“That’s what I like,” Rudy said. “To answer your first question, I don’t think so.”
Both Rudy and Jack just laughed. Seri remained silent.
“Okay, let’s get back to real business,” Jack added. “Oh, by the way, what would you like to drink? Tea, coffee or snacks?”
The waiter returned with a tray of tea, coffee and snacks for them to while away.
“Are you looking for good quality blue sapphires?” Seri asked. “The gem market is pretty tight, because of what they call act of god, man—you know, flood, drought, fighting, shooting, politics, stock market, and all that stuff. But we can help you find the right kind of blue sapphires you are looking for at a fair price.”
“That’s why I am in Bangkok,” Jack added. “I need 500 pieces altogether. Number one—I need 100 pieces of oval cut, 1carat each, violetish blue, lightly included, fair to good cut. Number two—I need 200 pieces of oval cut, 3carats, violetish blue, light to moderately included, fair to good cut. Number three—I need 50 pieces of rectangular step cut, 4carats, greenish blue, loupe clean, but good cut. Number four—I need 100 pieces of cushion cut, between 4 to 6carats, blue, lightly included, fair to good cut. Number five—I need 50 pieces of round brilliant cut, 8carats, royal blue, lightly included, but good cut. And I need a laboratory report for all the blue sapphires stating they are untreated. I am not bothered with origin. My customers can live with it. Do you think you can get the pieces in one week with the reports? If you can get the pieces in one week, I’ll pay your price, because I know how difficult it is to find the qualities—that I have just asked for knowing the situation in the gem market right now.”
Seri looked up at Rudy for the right answer. He also knew this was a once-in-a- lifetime opportunity, and they needed all their existing contacts to prove that they could do the job.
“I think we should be able to supply the blue sapphires in a week with laboratory reports,” Rudy said confidently.
Seri felt jubilant smiling broadly. Rudy also knew the time had come to prove himself after his long absence from the gem market. The five hundred piece deal was nothing compared to the kind of transaction he used to conduct before. But that was a long time ago. What mattered now was whether he had the balls to deliver the goods in one week.

Meanwhile, Seri began calculating the profit they were going to make mentally from this unexpected windfall using Rudy as a conduit. He could hardly sit steady. His fingers began tapping frantically on the desk.

After their discussion at the restaurant, Rudy and Seri decided to leave. Jack decided to stay to while away the time. He was in no hurry to return to the Oriental.
“Where are you going?” Seri asked hurriedly.
“Listen Seri, I’ll see you tomorrow morning in the office to work out the details regarding the contacts,” Rudy said. “And also let me know your ideas, because we haven’t got that much time.”
“I know,” Seri replied casually. “I’ll see you then tomorrow morning.”
Rudy hailed a taxi from Silom. He was still undecided whether to join the group at Pathumthani. Instead, he called James on his cell-phone.
“James, are you still there?” Rudy asked.
“Yeah! Where are you now?” James queried.
“I’m in a taxi stuck in a traffic jam on Silom,” Rudy continued. “I want you to be at my home urgently. Is Potch around?”
“She just left for an immediate appointment. I think she should be back in two hours. What’s the problem?” James asked.
“Okay, it’s good. It’s big business and the new client needs blue sapphires—I mean, five hundred pieces in a week. I have the sizes and qualities noted, but the price needs to be calibrated carefully, before closing the deal. Seri has gone to meet his contacts. I think this one is really special,” Rudy commented.
“Then I am on my way to your place. See you then soon,” James answered.