At the moment the red cloth was unveiled, the audience’s eyes lit up, as if they were hungry people suddenly presented with a feast.
On the three small carts were three sizable gambling stones, also known as raw jade materials in the trade.
“No gambling festival is complete without the main event of stone gambling. The organizers of this gambling festival have carefully selected three gambling stone materials for everyone,” the auctioneer approached the stones and introduced them one by one, “This one is an uncut raw stone, this one is a partially cut raw stone, and this one is a finished material. Now, the auction for these three stones will begin. Good luck, everyone!”
A slight smile appeared on Coral’s lips. “The organizers have put a lot of effort into this gambling festival. These three stone materials are quite good. Leo, it’s your turn to shine.”
“Absolutely,” Leo made an “OK” gesture to Coral.
The uncut raw stone, also known as the “blindfold material” in the trade, means that this type of raw material has not been opened or further cut. From its external appearance alone, it is impossible to determine whether there is jade inside.
This type of uncut raw stone has the highest gambling nature, and one can only judge it based on the external appearance of the raw material. For experienced people, there is a higher chance of making accurate judgments, but for inexperienced beginners, it is no different from blind guessing.
Leo had seen partially cut raw stones before when he was in the antique street. It refers to a part of the raw stone being cut or scraped to create a “window,” commonly known as a “sky window,” to allow for a more thorough assessment of the internal jade’s quality and type of water.
The gambling factor of this type of stone material falls between that of the uncut raw stone and the finished material. It has a higher chance of appreciation, and correspondingly, the price is considerably higher than that of the uncut raw stone.
The advantage of a partially cut raw stone is that buyers can not only judge the quality of the jade based on the outer shell of the raw stone but also estimate the amount and quality of the jade inside based on the visible window.
As for the finished material, it refers to removing the entire outer shell of the jade raw stone, fully exposing the jade inside.
Since the quality and texture of the jade can be directly seen in finished materials, there is virtually no gambling factor involved. The price is determined by the quality of the jade, making it suitable for buyers who do not wish to gamble but still need jade materials.
“Now, let me briefly explain these three jade raw stones to everyone,” the auctioneer approached the first uncut raw stone, “Please look at the large screen. This first uncut raw material weighs forty kilograms and comes from the Kosmochlor area in Myanmar!”
“Jade from Kosmochlor. The organizers really spared no expense,” Mr. Tyler whispered to himself. He knew that jade from the Kosmochlor mining area in Myanmar was of the highest quality, especially the gem-grade jade, of which two-thirds came from Kosmochlor.
Unfortunately, gem-grade jade from Kosmochlor had been completely mined out three years ago.
In recent years, with the booming jade market, the supply of jade raw materials from the entire Kosmochlor mining area has become increasingly scarce. To meet the demand, unscrupulous dealers would pass off jade from other mining areas as jade from Kosmochlor.
On the stage, the auctioneer began introducing the second partially cut jade raw stone, “This partially cut raw stone weighs forty-five kilograms and comes from the old factory district in Myanmar.”
“The old factory district, a good source,” Mr. Kipling praised.
The old factory district was the earliest jade mining area in Myanmar, with the largest area, the most factories, and the most diverse varieties of jade. It was renowned for its high production and quality of jade.
On the large screen, the partially cut raw stone slowly rotated 360 degrees, showcasing every part of it to the audience.
Especially the window that was cut, the translucent jade flesh appeared like a pearl embedded in the stone, creating a strong contrast and aesthetic appeal.
“The jade in the window area is actually icy green, making me drool,” Mr. Tyler exclaimed.
“Tsk tsk, look at the color, it’s full-color.”
“In my opinion, this stone is definitely going to appreciate!”
The crowd started discussing. Stones with windows like this held great allure for jade traders.
Especially now that there were more and more people in the jade business, there was a situation where there were many wolves but not enough meat. The supply of high-grade jade became increasingly scarce, and without good material, it was difficult to retain customers.
With so many wealthy people now, as long as you had good goods, there was no need to worry about them not spending enough money.
The large screen switched to the last finished material, a jade raw stone.
“This final finished material weighs fifty-five kilograms and comes from the Damukan factory district. It is a green-based, blue-green jade material.”
The auctioneer briefly introduced the three jade raw stones, not delving too deeply into the gambling aspect. After all, many of the distinguished guests present were experts in this field, so he didn’t want to be redundant.
Green-based, blue-green jade, as the name suggests, has a green base color with blue-green accents. The blue and green colors are distinct and layered, creating a sense of depth.
The texture of this type of jade is fine, and the presence of blue colors gives it a fuzzy appearance. If there is less fuzziness, the jade appears bright, while more fuzziness results in a darker appearance. Accordingly, different grades can be distinguished.
Green-based, blue-green jade is generally of medium to slightly higher quality. Only a small portion of it exhibits excellent color and can reach the high-grade jade level.
Low-quality jade doesn’t fetch a good price, and high-grade jade is scarce. As a result, jade of this green-based, blue-green intermediate to upper level has become the favorite choice of jade traders.
“Damukan factory district producing green-based, blue-green jade, it’s quite rare,” Coral murmured as she looked at the jade raw stone.
The Damukan factory district was located downstream of the Uyu River, adjacent to the old factory district and not far from Hpakant. It began mining after the old factory district had been active for a century. The larger factory areas included Damukan and Hongba.
“I’ve finished briefly introducing these three jade raw stones. Now, our hostesses will push the jade raw stones to the esteemed guests for personal observation. After half an hour, we will begin the final auction!” The auctioneer put down the microphone and took a sip of mineral water.
In the audience area, there were aisles about one and a half meters wide between every two rows, allowing the hostesses to push their carts through.
To save time, the hostess pushing the uncut raw stone started from the first row, the hostess pushing the partially cut raw stone started from the middle, and the hostess pushing the finished material started from the last row.
People had already taken out magnifying glasses from their pockets and were waiting for the hostesses to come to their positions.
Leo and Coral sat in the second row. Two to three minutes later, the hostess pushing the uncut raw stone arrived in front of them.
Leo had no knowledge or experience in observing gambling stones, but fortunately, he had his own straightforward method.
Coral, on the other hand, was a professional. As she observed the uncut raw stone, she muttered to herself, “There are python patterns and pine flowers on the surface of the outer shell, indicating a chance of green jade.”