important bank balance than the dealer who does not know and does not care.
I have in mind a dealer friend of mine, to whom £ 1,000
in hard cash would be a godsend, not because he is poor or in want, but
because his mania for collecting fine specimens has left him
frightfully short of ready money. His latest acquisition is a specimen
ruby he could have sold many times over at a good profit. Instead, it
sleeps in his wallet on a snowy pad of cotton-wool, eating its head off
in interest. In fact, it eats up more in interest on his money than a
pedigreed hunter would require for a year's oats. For the dealer who
cannot bear to sell his goods might as well keep a racing stable and be
done with it!
But
my friend says: "I haven't got wife, child or hobby. When I feel
lonesome or depressed I bring out that ruby and know that life is worth
living."
To
those unfamiliar with the procedure in marketing gem stones it may be
of interest to learn that as soon as a consignment of stones in the
rough—that is, in the uncut state or in the state which is called
"Indian cut" (imperfectly or not fully faceted)—reaches the consignees
in London or Paris all the well-known dealers are advised. They inspect
the goods, make their choice and submit their offers, which are cabled
out to the respective owners, be they in Ceylon, India, Siam, Australia
or any part of South America, for all these parts of the world
contribute their quota of gem material to the great trading centres. If
the offer is accepted, the transaction is closed forthwith; the
merchandise is delivered and cash is paid, for spot cash is de rigueur in these transactions.
