Gemsicuted

Written by Julian Robov


Forty Eight


The receptionist brought in one Bill Bose, after getting permission from Jeb Singthowala. The office was less busy, as Jeb welcomed Bose.
“Have a seat, Mr Bose. Can I get you anything to drink?” Jeb asked.
“No, Mr Jeb. I’m just fine,” Bose said politely.
“Okay,” continued Jeb. “I did go through your 37carat ruby. Perfect color; eye clean stone, and the cut, just right. Now, what is missing is your price. Do you have an asking price on this ruby?”
“You like it, don’t you? That’s good.” Bose felt confident after Jeb’s comment.
“Do you mind if I ask you some personal questions? You are under no obligation. If you think I am wrong, be open. I won’t go further. You see different gem dealers have different styles. This is my style. It’s a two way street. If you want to know anything about me be frank. I will be more than pleased to answer any of your questions,” Jeb reasoned.
“I don’t think that will be necessary,” Bose added. “I already know who you are. Okay, what would you like to know about me?”
Jeb paused. He had already done his homework.
“Nothing much,” Jeb said. “I’m just curious as to where you got this piece. Was this a cut piece when you bought it or did you buy it as a rough and then decided to cut?”
“I bought it as a rough and then got it cut,” Bose answered promptly.
“Would you mind showing me the leftover from the rough, if you have it with you?” Jeb asked Bose in a nice way.
“Why are you asking this? No one has ever asked this before. What’s the matter with the stone?” Bose replied, confused.
“Nothing unusual. If you don’t have it with you, it’s fine,” Jeb said, relaxed.
“It had the crystal habits of a ruby,” Bose reminded.
“So you know what I’m talking about, don’t you?” Jeb said smilingly. Bose felt uneasy with Jeb’s statement, but waited.
“Do you remember roughly the weight of your uncut ruby before being cut?” Jeb asked, expecting a quick reply.
“A hundred carat! We got a nice piece of 37carat, and a few small stones. We lost quite a lot,” Bose replied.
“Where did you buy this rough?” Jeb asked.
“Of course, Burma. Where else can you get this color?” Bose said impatiently.
“Luc Yen, Vietnam! I’ve seen some stones from that mine of similar color,” Jeb quipped. Bose paused. There was something wrong with the stone or price. And Jeb was slowly getting to that point.
“Interesting. Have you been to those mines?” Bose quipped.
“Yeah, several times,” Jeb said. “I’ve never been an armchair dealer in my life. I always go to the source to compare everything including color, shape, and price. So I have an understanding of quality.”
“I’m not surprised,” Bose said.
“My question now is what makes you so sure this ruby came from Burma? You have never been to that part of the world. What’s your sure bet for confirmation?”
That was too direct. Jeb was beginning to peel Bose like onions. His sharp and toxic tongue quite often hurt people both, friends and dealers.
“My friends don’t cheat me,” Bose said firmly. “I’ve tremendous amount of trust in them. This is not the first deal.”
“That’s the problem. I’ll get back to that part later. Now, what would be the asking price for a piece of ruby like this?” Jeb said, looking directly into Bose’s eyes.
Bose scratched his head feverishly, before looking straight into Jeb’s eyes. There was a bit of nervousness, as he calibrated the numbers.
“What would you like to offer for this magnificent ruby?”
Jeb knew instantly Bose was using the reverse psychology to test the waters.
“Now before we waste too much of our precious time, I’ve only one question. What’s your final price, which includes your profit? No room for bargaining. I know how much it is worth. But I want you to say that in one word or a sentence,” Jeb said plainly.
That took Bose by surprise, a tactic, which didn’t leave room for any sort of maneuver. He looked tense, as the build up from within released beads of sweat on his forehead. He tried to smile, but knew it didn’t work out well. Finally, after intense contemplation, he uttered quietly, “One million dollars!”
Jeb stared at Bose without any emotion and asked, “Is that your final price?”
“I think so,” Bose said quickly.
Jeb took his calculator and punched few numbers and double-checked again, before showing it to him. Bose’s face turned white, as he read the numbers quietly.
“I calculated this way,” Jeb added. “The weight of the stone is 37carat. I will give this piece out of compassion two hundred dollars per carat. So if you multiply thirtyseven carat times two hundred, you should get seven thousand four hundred dollars, and I’m giving you a free one way ticket to Djibouti. Package deal. That’s what it is worth. Nothing more, nothing less.”
“Why are so generous, Jeb?” Bose asked, puzzled.
“Because that’s what I do when I see people make mistakes in their buying,” Jeb continued. “I give them enough time to rethink in a vacation spot, where nobody bothers them. This is not the first time I have done something like this. Countless recipients have enjoyed this privilege only to return punctually. You are not an exception.”
“Are you sure, you didn’t make a mistake in your judgment?” Bose asked nervously.
“Nope,” Jeb replied. “You gave me enough time to study this 37carat ruby. I’m perfectly convinced of my judgment. You will make a good profit if you allow me to buy this ruby at my price.”
“Where did I go wrong? There is a big difference in your price and mine,” Bose said looking confused.
“That’s the fun of the so-called price / quality mood swings,” Jeb continued. “What do you think about this offer? You have nothing to lose. If you think you lost, then it is better to lose now before it is too late. Period.”
“I don’t understand your logic behind this calculation. Pardon me, if I’m a bit slow. Why so low?” Bose asked.
“Okay,” Jeb said. “Let me share my thoughts with you. This ruby is definitely not from Burma, Vietnam, Thailand, or even from hell. This ruby is from another country, possibly the United States of America!”
“Do they have rubies in America? I didn’t know that,” Bose said, gasping for breath.
“What I meant to say is your ruby is a good quality synthetic made in that part of the world by some clever scientists in a lab. Whoever gave you this piece knew what they were doing. The problem was you. You just took it on faith, because it came from your beloved crooked friends. Another fact is that whenever you orbit with a piece of this size, you don’t have to do so much talking and convincing. If you had taken a bit of your time getting it identified by an independent gem testing laboratory like the one in Switzerland, where an opinion on its identity or origin is given if requested. It’s clear and an easy option. I wouldn’t be talking like this today if you had that bit of information with your ruby. And, a ruby of this
size should fetch a lot if it had been proven it came from Burma, many more times than the one million dollars you just quoted me. That means your numbers were too low for a natural good quality ruby of this size,” Jeb commented.
The telephone rang. It was his secretary. He reminded her not to take any calls for him for another half an hour. Jeb then hung up the phone turning his attention to Bose.
“That bad?” Bose asked.
“What really surprised me is the precise size of this stone. I mean, the 37carat! There is another ruby of the same quality with a report from the Swiss lab in the hands of a ruby dealer. So there must be some sinister reason behind cutting the rough to this precise carat weight. They have used you as a go between to test the waters,” Jeb said to Bose.
“I don’t understand,” Bose added.
“Well, you understand now that your new ruby is not the piece you represent. If you had been elsewhere, you would have been dead by now. The real ruby dealers take every transaction, opening and closing very seriously, because it affects a lot of people and their credibility. You cheated death today to be precise. I’ve an envelope for you. Before that, here is your ruby. Weigh the stone before you put it in your pocket. Double-check. I usually don’t allow anyone to return in the guise of an error. Now open the envelope and read the instructions carefully,” Jeb said calmly.
He waited for Bose’s reaction.
“It’s an air ticket to...., where on earth is this place?”
“Djibouti! Your one way ticket. It’s valid for a year. You have all the time in the world to rethink before you enter Silom. There are schools around the world where you can learn about identifying natural from synthetic. That’s your only defense against ignorance. When we do business, we mean it. It’s serious, no room for a mistake or error of any sort. Deceit of any sort will be punished severely without any mercy. Take your ruby and the envelope. Have a meaningful comeback,” Jeb said to Bose in a friendly manner.
While leaving Jeb’s office, Bose realized what a goof he was carrying a synthetic ruby instead of a natural one and that too without asking any questions. He wanted to kill Papov for using him as a guinea pig. Going back to Pattaya and telling Papov the truth was something he wasn’t trained for, and he began to worry about it.