Gemsicuted

Written by Julian Robov


Thirty Five


The wait at Chantaburi did yield some results, but the rubies were small. Marty and Pascal decided to leave for Bangkok, after being given the address of one Boonchu at Gem Plaza on Mahesak Road. Then came the good news, he was a dealer in big sizes.

Marty and Pascal were shown a parcel of rubies at the Bangkok office of Boonchu, a ruby dealer from Mae Sai. His agents got the information from the gem market that two foreigners were looking for big stones. After learning that money wasn’t a big problem for them, he decided to show them good ones, but slowly. EYE CLEANING!

All the rubies shown were big sizes. There were three rubies, oval shaped, in the 8 to 10carat range. They were red with a slight tint of orange. Overall, the pieces looked good. Then Boonchu showed them two pieces of rubies from Burma. One was 13carat, and the other, 18carat, cushion shaped beauty. Colors were red with a slight tint of violet. The rubies had visible inclusions face-up (table-up) with a large pavilion bulge. Overall, the color wasn’t that bad, an average stone due to the influence of inclusions coupled with a bad cut.

Marty glanced at Pascal for her opinion. She didn’t like the rubies. But Marty still had a liking for the three orange red rubies. He put them aside for a while. Boonchu took his time to get a feel of their color taste. He was showing rubies of different qualities incrementally, instead of putting good ones first. He took another box of rubies from his safe and removed five stone packets. On a white background, he put the rubies face-up (table-up) for them to view. One 20carat, 24 carat, 26carat, 30carat, and 36carat were laid on the table respectively. All were oval shaped with a slight degree of pink and violet overtones. The absence of orange or brown tint face-up (table-up) made them desirable choices. Marty liked all the rubies. The brilliancy flashes were so good he couldn’t differentiate the qualities between the five rubies. Boonchu smiled at them. He knew they had shown some interest in the rubies after studying their faces. Marty glanced at Pascal. She nodded.
“What are the prices for the 13 and 18carat rubies plus the five rubies?” Marty asked Boonchu.
“You like it, don’t you?” he commented.
Instead, he wrote on a piece of paper the stone prices for all the rubies separately. Boonchu waited for their reaction.
“Are these numbers the last price?” Pascal interrupted. Boonchu nodded.
Marty and Pascal glanced at each other finding it hard to make a decision. Knowing their mind, Boonchu intervened to make them feel relaxed and less guilty.
“Take your time. No need to rush for decisions. You can come any day you like within this week,” he said. As if he remembered something, he continued, “and if you are interested in viewing a 37carat ruby, you should come tomorrow. A broker has promised to show me the piece. Someone from Pattaya wants to sell. Okay.”
“Great,” Marty added, “and you have some real nice pieces here. We will come tomorrow. What time is right for you?”
Boonchu glanced at his watch and said, “In the afternoon, say around two.”

The next day, Marty and Pascal arrived Boonchu’s office at around two fifteen. After careful thought they decided to buy the 30carat and 36carat piece, but the office had a lot of people and Marty wondered what was going on. They waited outside for the crowd to leave. By two thirty, Boonchu appeared smiling heartily first, and then apologized for the inconvenience.
“The ruby is here,” said Boonchu, “I haven’t studied the stone very well, so if you want to look, do so.”
“That’s fine. Thank you,” answered Pascal.
He walked to the safe and removed a small plastic box from a cloth bag. He laid the 37carat ruby on a white pad for them to view.
“The broker says, it is a clean stone and well cut. I think the ruby has a good color which is very unusual and difficult for rubies nowadays,” said Boonchu.
Pascal had never seen Marty’s face glow before. He was so captivated by the beauty of this one piece, without even thinking further he took the ruby and laid it on his hand to see the color contrast.
The ruby looked the same red under fluorescent, incandescent, and skylight. He was in an excited mood. Marty didn’t even bother asking Pascal’s opinion. She noticed his sudden excitement and kept her cool temper.
“Wha, Wha, Wha, What’s the price of this ruby?” Marty asked quickly.
“I don’t know yet, because the broker just left the piece with me in the morning,” said Boonchu, “but he should be back in the office by late evening. Why?”
“I like the piece, and I want to buy it,” said Marty.
“Excuse me, Mr Boonchu,” Pascal interrupted. Boonchu had to rush to the toilet. She took Marty’s hand and walked to the corner angrily.
“What’s going on? Are you so screwedup with the stones? How come you are not asking my opinion? Do you think I don’t understand the situation?” she cried. There was a quick reconciliation after the brief outburst.
“Oh, I’m sorry. Peace, peace! I understand what you are saying. Peace, peace! I don’t want Boonchu to see your angry face. Smile like an angel when you take your seat,” said Marty, trying to soothe her.
When Boonchu returned from the lavatory both, Marty and Pascal, were still glued to the ruby and studying its features. He was talking on his mobile to Chai, who had delivered the ruby at his office. Chai, seeing an opportunity come from an unexpected corner said to Boonchu to sell the ruby, taking into account his commission and other expenses for $1.25 million.

After hearing the price, Boonchu felt something was wrong with the number or quality. He didn’t say anything further, because talking over the phone meant someone was listening all the time. He hated that. Instead, with this deal, he wanted the broker and Marty to negotiate separately, because it was not his ruby.

After a pause, he relayed the news to Marty to wait for the broker to arrive instead. That sounded like a fair deal for Marty and Pascal.
“Ah, one more thing,” continued Marty. “I would like to buy the 30carat and 36carat rubies.” He hesitated first, but asked, “Do you think this is your last price for the rubies? Sorry to bother you, I know the price, since you wrote it on this piece of paper. Can you just, you know?”
Boonchu knew what they meant. In order to avoid further confusion and distrust, he said firmly the quoted price was his last price. He convinced them that the price was fair.
Marty and Pascal nodded. Before they could ask about the mode of payment, Boonchu said to transfer the money first to his bank account in Hong Kong. Once he had the confirmation of the transfer from his financial consultant, they could pick the ruby. That was the deal.

Pascal sent an electronic mail to her lawyer in Geneva to transfer the money through their Swiss bank to the Hong Kong bank. Boonchu checked the money transfer with his bank and his financial consultant. It was quick and precise. Boonchu was expecting another question from either of them. They weren’t asking. And he decided to leave it like that for the time being. It was the identification report regarding the rubies he had just sold.
“So,” Marty hesitated first, and then continued, “the ruby is with me, or I should say with us.” He then glanced at Pascal and smiled. “Do you think we should wait here for Chai to come? I’m really interested in that 37carat ruby,” Pascal inquired.
“Yep. That’s what he said to me on the phone. By the way, if you need any more rubies you know where to come,” said Boonchu jokingly.
Marty and Pascal laughed. “Sure.”
They waited patiently.