Chapter 72 Cat’s Eye
"Brother Lin, what about me? The aunt said it's cat's eye stone, but the quality is not good."
Lin Yuan did not reach out to take it, and said with a smile: "Cat's eye is a precious gemstone. A high-quality cat's eye of more than 10 carats can be worth millions of dollars. Do you think it is possible?"
The main mineral component of cat's eye is beryllium aluminum oxide. When exposed to strong light or sunlight, cat's eye will reflect a concentrated dazzling light. When the intensity of the light source changes, the reflected light band of cat's eye will also become stronger or weaker. , becomes thicker and thinner.
When the cat's eye stone is turned, the reflected light band will flexibly change, just like a cat's eye, so people vividly call it "cat's eye".
Qiao Yufan: “You can tell it’s fake at first glance!”
"It can't be said to be fake. It depends on what kind of cat's eye it is. There are many stones with cat's eye effect, such as quartz cat's eye, diopside cat's eye, actinolite cat's eye, as well as apatite cat's eye, tourmaline cat's eye, and scapolitan stone. Maoyan etc.
The cat's eye phenomenon occurs due to the parallel fibrous structures within these gemstones.
But their specific gravity and refractive index are much lower than those of chrysoberyl cat's eyes.
In appearance, the texture is rough, the reflected light is not bright and clear, and the color quality is not as pure and crystal clear as chrysoberyl. Compared with real cat's eye, the difference in value is hundreds to thousands of times. "Lin Yuan also took advantage of these few days to talk eloquently.
"So, this is indeed a cat's eye stone, but is it a worthless variety?"
Lin Yuan still shook his head: "To be precise, this cannot be regarded as a cat's eye stone, it is just a stone with a cat's eye effect."
This is a bit similar to luminous pearls. Many so-called "luminous pearls" on the market do indeed glow, but they are actually just luminous stones, such as fluorite, not luminous pearls.
The real luminous pearls are very valuable, not the bad ones.
"Besides, whose cat's eye stone would be used for piercing? Doesn't this destroy the eyeliner of the cat's eye stone?"
You know, the most valuable thing about cat's eye stone is actually the eyeliner, that is the essence.
When everyone heard it, it seemed right.
Lin Yuan put his eyes on Huo Qingtong's hand and asked her: "What is that thing in your hand? Let me take a look."
Huo Qingtong opened his palm, and there was something as big as his thumb lying on it, diamond-shaped, a bit like a yellow gem.
"It's the pendant under the bracelet. I dropped it just now." Huo Qingtong said. Then, she handed the yellow diamond-shaped pendant to Lin Yuan.
Lin Yuan was a little different: "Together?"
It's strange. The treasure hunt instrument missed this thing just now. Is it out of range? This is the only explanation.
A trace of expectation arose in Huo Qingtong's heart, and he nodded like a chicken catching millet: "Yeah! That's right! The pendant under the bracelet. Brother Lin, do you think it's worth it?"
Lin Yuan nodded slightly. He knew that in addition to the main bead, a string of eighteen pieces also consisted of "Buddha heads", "Buddhist pagodas", and falling horns.
Obviously, this is the falling horn on the Shibazi bracelet.
"This is tourmaline, of very high quality, reaching gem level."
Huo Qingtong was immediately happy, she knew about Tourmaline.
Brother Lin told them before that tourmaline was one of the materials for the feathers worn by first- and second-grade officials in the Qing Dynasty, and was also used to make the court beads they wore.
At the same time, tourmaline was also one of the favorites of the Empress Dowager Cixi. Therefore, in the era of the Empress Dowager Cixi, tourmaline received unprecedented attention in China.
Tourmaline has complex composition and complex and changeable colors. The international jewelry industry basically divides commercial varieties of tourmaline according to color. The richer the color, the higher the value.
Green and yellow tourmalines are the most common of all tourmaline color variants and therefore less valuable than blue and red tourmalines. Li Qiushui and others were envious and curious: "How much is it worth?"
"This kind of high-quality tourmaline costs several thousand or even more than 10,000 yuan per carat. I'm not too sure about the details. I can ask Uncle De and the others when I get back."
He only knew that the price range of tourmaline was very wide, ranging from tens of dollars per carat to thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars. The specific price depends on the quality, color, transparency and other factors of the tourmaline.
Huo Qingtong happily put away the tourmaline diamond pendant.
This time, she seemed to have good luck. Apart from Brother Lin and her uncle, she gained the most.
Lin Yuan and the others continued walking forward and saw someone selling guns.
"Can you sell guns like this?" Lin Yuan was very surprised.
Although I knew that the United States was very tolerant and even indulgent towards guns, I didn’t expect it to be so indulgent!
If the stall owner didn't get his way while bargaining, wouldn't he just pick up a gun and shoot him?
The old uncle shrugged: "The streets are full of gun shops, so what's weird about a stall? Besides, the gun is second-hand. Whether it can go off or not is one thing."
He is not bragging or slandering. In the United States, the relatively hidden streets are full of shops selling guns, with a dazzling array of guns.
All right! Lin Yuan was convinced.
Check out the 16-9 book bar and see the correct version!
The old uncle added: "If you have time another day, you can go and practice. It is necessary to have two guns at home."
In the past, if the family couldn't afford a few dollars, they would have to call out bad luck if a thief came in. But it's different now. If you have money, it's inevitable that someone will miss you.
How can you protect your property without a gun? Do you expect those Buddhas to be happy?
When it comes to guns, Lin Yuan is not sleepy anymore.
In China, although you can play with guns in some places, it is impossible to own a gun of your own.
"Okay! I'll go when I get back." Lin Yuan responded immediately.
Qiao Yufan could understand Lin Yuan's mood, it was the same when he first came here. What man doesn't like guns?
While chatting, they passed a stall selling potted plants. There were several pots of flowers and trees on it, two of which were orchids. If I remember correctly, one pot seemed to be called Phalaenopsis. The orchid in another pot is a bit strange, like a jumping frog.
Lin Yuan stopped.
Others also stopped and turned to the stall. They knew Lin Yuan and would not stop for no reason. They probably saw something valuable again.
"Hey! It's Guilan." Qiao Yufan exclaimed.
The ghost orchid is an epiphyte. Although it also wraps around other plants, it is different from a parasitic plant. It does not absorb nutrients from the host plant, but uses its own roots for photosynthesis and water absorption.
Their root system can be well integrated with the bark of the tree, and the eye-catching white flowers are like ghosts floating in the air, so they are also called "ghost orchids".
This orchid is a rare and protected plant all over the world!
The ghost orchid is very rare. It is said that there are only more than 2,000 plants left in the United States, where it is mainly distributed. They all grow in the swamps of southern Florida.
Even in the United States, collecting this orchid is illegal.
You are so brave, you dare to sell it.
Qiao Yufan thought that Lin Yuan was attracted to this pot of ghost orchid, so he reminded: "Brother Lin, it's best not to touch this kind of orchid."
(End of chapter)