thing that comes to mind is not money but the magical properties that have been attributed to it since ancient times. The diamond, for instance, is considered a symbol of purity. Our ancestors used to test their wives' fidelity by placing a diamond under their sleeping spouse's pillow. If she was faithful, then she would immediately turn to her husband and embrace him without waking. If she was unfaithful, she would toss and turn and attempt to throw the diamond onto the floor. And the diamond is also reputed to guarantee its owner's invincibility. The ancient Arabs used to believe that in battle the general who owned the larger diamond would be victorious.'
'Ancient Arab mistaken,' said Gintaro Aono, interrupting the inspired speaker in full flow.
Everyone stared in astonishment at the Japanese, who very rarely joined in the general conversation and never interrupted anyone. The Oriental continued hastily in that odd accent of his:
'In the Academy of St Cyr we were taught that the Duke of Burgundy, Charles the Bold, specially took the huge Sancy diamond with him into battle against the Swiss, but it did not save him from defeat.'
Clarissa felt sorry for the poor devil for making a rare attempt to show off his knowledge at such an inopportune moment.
The Japanese gentleman's remark was greeted with deadly silence, and Aono blushed in painful embarrassment.
'Yes indeed, Charles the Bold . . .' the professor said with a sharp nod of dissatisfaction and concluded without his former ardour. 'The sapphire symbolizes devotion and constancy, the emerald confers improved sharpness of vision and foresight, the ruby protects against illness and the evil eye . . . But you were asking about the value of Bagdassar's treasures?'
'I realize that it must be an incredibly huge sum, but could you at least give us an approximate idea of how many zeros there are in it?' Mme Kleber enunciated clearly, as if she were addressing a dull-witted pupil, demonstrating yet again that once a banker's wife, always a banker's wife.
Clarissa would have enjoyed listening to more on the subject of the magical properties of precious stones and would have preferred to avoid talk of money. Apart from anything else, it was so vulgar.
'Very well then, let me just tot it up.' Sweetchild took a pencil out of his pocket and poised himself to write on a paper napkin. 'Formerly the diamond was considered the most expensive stone, but since the discovery of the South African mines it has fallen significantly in value. Large sapphires are found more often than other precious stones, and so on average they are only worth a quarter as much as diamonds, but that does not apply to yellow and star sapphires, and they made up the majority of Bagdassar's collection. Pure rubies and emeralds of great size are also rare and have a higher value than diamonds of the same weight . . . Very well, for simplicity's sake, let us assume that all five hundred and twelve stones are diamonds, and all of the same value. Each of them, as I have already said, weighing eighty carats. According to Tavernier's formula, which is used by jewellers all over the world, the value of a single stone is calculated by taking the market value of a one carat diamond and multiplying it by the square of the number of carats in the stone concerned. That would give us ... A one carat diamond costs about fifteen pounds on the Antwerp exchange. Eighty squared is six thousand four hundred. Multiply by fifteen . . . Mmm . . . Ninety-six thousand pounds sterling - so that is the value of an average stone from the Brahmapur casket . . . Multiply by five hundred and twelve . . . About fifty million pounds sterling. And in actual fact even more, because as I have already explained, coloured stones of such a great size are more valuable than diamonds,' Sweetchild concluded triumphantly.
'Fifty million pounds? As much as that?' Renier asked in a voice suddenly hoarse. 'But that's one and a half billion
'Ancient Arab mistaken,' said Gintaro Aono, interrupting the inspired speaker in full flow.
Everyone stared in astonishment at the Japanese, who very rarely joined in the general conversation and never interrupted anyone. The Oriental continued hastily in that odd accent of his:
'In the Academy of St Cyr we were taught that the Duke of Burgundy, Charles the Bold, specially took the huge Sancy diamond with him into battle against the Swiss, but it did not save him from defeat.'
Clarissa felt sorry for the poor devil for making a rare attempt to show off his knowledge at such an inopportune moment.
The Japanese gentleman's remark was greeted with deadly silence, and Aono blushed in painful embarrassment.
'Yes indeed, Charles the Bold . . .' the professor said with a sharp nod of dissatisfaction and concluded without his former ardour. 'The sapphire symbolizes devotion and constancy, the emerald confers improved sharpness of vision and foresight, the ruby protects against illness and the evil eye . . . But you were asking about the value of Bagdassar's treasures?'
'I realize that it must be an incredibly huge sum, but could you at least give us an approximate idea of how many zeros there are in it?' Mme Kleber enunciated clearly, as if she were addressing a dull-witted pupil, demonstrating yet again that once a banker's wife, always a banker's wife.
Clarissa would have enjoyed listening to more on the subject of the magical properties of precious stones and would have preferred to avoid talk of money. Apart from anything else, it was so vulgar.
'Very well then, let me just tot it up.' Sweetchild took a pencil out of his pocket and poised himself to write on a paper napkin. 'Formerly the diamond was considered the most expensive stone, but since the discovery of the South African mines it has fallen significantly in value. Large sapphires are found more often than other precious stones, and so on average they are only worth a quarter as much as diamonds, but that does not apply to yellow and star sapphires, and they made up the majority of Bagdassar's collection. Pure rubies and emeralds of great size are also rare and have a higher value than diamonds of the same weight . . . Very well, for simplicity's sake, let us assume that all five hundred and twelve stones are diamonds, and all of the same value. Each of them, as I have already said, weighing eighty carats. According to Tavernier's formula, which is used by jewellers all over the world, the value of a single stone is calculated by taking the market value of a one carat diamond and multiplying it by the square of the number of carats in the stone concerned. That would give us ... A one carat diamond costs about fifteen pounds on the Antwerp exchange. Eighty squared is six thousand four hundred. Multiply by fifteen . . . Mmm . . . Ninety-six thousand pounds sterling - so that is the value of an average stone from the Brahmapur casket . . . Multiply by five hundred and twelve . . . About fifty million pounds sterling. And in actual fact even more, because as I have already explained, coloured stones of such a great size are more valuable than diamonds,' Sweetchild concluded triumphantly.
'Fifty million pounds? As much as that?' Renier asked in a voice suddenly hoarse. 'But that's one and a half billion
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