Chapter 61 Proving What It’s Made Of (1/2)

Chapter 61: Proving What It’s Made Of

Translator: Nyoi-Bo StudioEditor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

They walked into the small house. Li Du took out the four antique clocks while Hans chatted with the shrewd-looking Mr. Raymond.

Seeing the antique clocks, Raymond’s eyes lit up. Ignoring his conversation with Hans, he picked one up to take a closer look.

With just one look at it, he confidently said, ”This was made in the Louis XV style. I would say this is a gilt-bronze, French-styled mantel clock with porcelain flowers from the Meissen company in Germany.”

”Do you mean that the porcelain flowers are German, from Meissen, and that the clock was made in France?” asked Hans.

This was different from what Kevin from the general store had said. Kevin had told them that the box was English. The clock should be the same.

Raymond shook his head. ”No, it was just made in the French style. It was probably made in England, sometime between 1815 and 1850.”

Li Du and Hans glanced at each other. The old man was a true connoisseur. With just one glance, he’d been able to tell them what Kevin had taken a long time to figure out, and give them a more specific time frame.

Putting what Kevin and Raymond had each said, the authentic antique clocks had been produced in England between 1815 and 1820, during the reign of King George the Third, with German porcelain accessories and English gilt, in the French style.

Hans coughed and told him what they knew.

Raymond looked at him with astonishment. ”You two have good eyes. This isn’t a famous clock. It’s quite impressive to know this much.”

”How much are you willing to pay for these clocks?” Hans asked. ”I imagine that anyone who loves clocks would be very interested in old masterpieces such as these.”

Raymond put down the clock. ”If it really were a bronze-gilt French-style mantel clock with Meissen porcelain flowers, then it would be an old masterpiece.”

”What does that mean?” Hans’s expression darkened.

”These are counterfeits. And counterfeits less than twenty years old at that,” continued Raymond. ”I’m sorry, but they’re worthless.”

This was a real blow to Hans. They had picked these randomly when dividing the clocks with The President’s Umbrella. At the time, he had told them that there were only two authentic clocks among the nine.

”Our luck can’t be that bad, can it?” Hans looked at Li Du bitterly. ”All four are counterfeits? We didn’t get a single real one?”

Treasure hunters based their trade on transparency and fairness. They didn’t try to fool their buyers, and in exchange, their buyers shared information with them.

If a treasure hunter were to sell a counterfeit or substandard item, whether it was intentional or not, their reputation within the trade would go down. Fewer people would be willing to deal with them.

So Hans communicated with Li Du openly without avoiding Raymond hearing them.

Li Du didn’t answer, but looked curiously at the old man. ”Mr. Raymond, how could you tell that they were counterfeits?”

The old man said confidently, ”Come. Let me show you. No matter how well-made a counterfeit is, there are ways to tell.”

He lifted the antique clock in front of him. ”First of all, real antique clocks are made in one piece. Whereas counterfeits are made with thin and light copper plates welded together.

”The assembly needs to be done layer by layer, so the space between the plates is large and the surface uneven. Overall, counterfeits look flimsy, not solid and substantial like authentic ones.”

Li Du scrutinized the clock and frowned. ”It looks quite solid to me.”