Chapter 1046 Burmese Ruby

Just like the first Buddha statue, the second Buddha statue that Xiao Peng smashed open was also filled with shipworms. However, since everyone was mentally prepared, they didn't feel uncomfortable this time. Instead, it was something else inside the statue that made everyone laugh!

There had originally been a large wooden box inside the Buddha statue, but having been submerged in the sea for too long, it had been damaged by shipworms. With a blow from Xiao Peng's sledgehammer, the box shattered, spilling red gems all over the floor.

"Hiss! There really are Burmese rubies!" Chen Zetao bent down and picked up a thumb-sized ruby from the ground. "They're all 'pigeon blood red'! The color is so vivid! How can the saturation be so high?"

Hua Chong swallowed his saliva: "Brother Chen, didn't you notice that the ones above are all small?"

As he spoke, he pulled out a ruby the size of a child's fist from the pile of rubies and examined it in the sunlight. "I'm speechless except for 'WTF'! Boss, how big is the world's largest rough ruby?"

After hearing this, Xiao Peng came back to his senses. He did not answer Hua Chong's question, but swallowed his saliva first.

In fact, he was also shocked!

The host rock of natural rubies is generally marble. Intrusions of granitic syenite occur within the marble. Rubies are found in this marble, which is similar to the syenite. Due to the unique formation conditions, rubies are rarely large!

And even if there are large ruby rough stones occasionally, considering the color and purity issues, they may not be more valuable than small ones.

Just like the 'Carmon-Lucia Ruby Ring' which is known as the world's finest and largest ruby, the ruby on it is only 23.1 carats.

Currently, high-quality Burmese rubies over 20 carats are extremely rare worldwide. And what was in front of Xiao Peng and the others? A full pile. The smallest one was over 10 carats!

Xiao Peng lit a cigarette, but his hands were actually shaking a little.

There is a saying now that rubies are no longer valuable.

Rubies are worthless because of the emergence of artificial rubies. These artificial rubies have the same hardness and physical properties as natural rubies, but their color is more beautiful. They can also be processed into special shapes that natural rubies cannot. Most importantly, they are cheap!

The unit of measurement for artificial rubies is 'kilogram'!

But! But! But!

Natural rubies don't cost that much! They're still the most expensive gemstones in the world! Some natural rubies with good purity but less-than-perfect color under three carats cost around $40,000 per carat. Ordinary rubies on the market cost around $30,000 per carat. And rubies like this "pigeon's blood" red? Rubies under three carats generally cost around $60,000 per carat.

But if it’s over three carats? Then you can’t just calculate the price by carat, the price will skyrocket!

As for Xiao Peng's diamonds? There's basically nothing under ten carats! Those that are as big as a child's fist are usually at least a thousand carats!

How could Xiao Peng not be shocked? A random "child's fist" could be sold at auction for hundreds of millions of dollars, right?

This guy is really rich - this is the first Buddha statue with something in its belly!

He took a drag on his cigarette to calm himself, then said to the camera in his most pretentious tone, "It's not surprising to see so many high-quality rubies here! After all, they were the 'bride price' for the Spanish royal wedding, and the Spanish royal family was incredibly wealthy back then! Many people can't understand why Spain and Portugal, both traditional colonial powers, aren't as wealthy as Britain now. The reason is simple: they used different methods of overseas expansion."

"The overseas colonial activities of Spain and Portugal were led by the royal families, while those of Britain were led by private companies. Spain and Portugal colonized so many lands, but they did so in the name of the royal families, and all the fruits of their labor belonged to the royal families. Their colonial activities, maritime expansion, and all trade rights were 'state-owned,' and all profits were monopolized by the royal families and the nobility. Other classes had no right or opportunity to share in the wealth. Let me put it this way: in the 16th century, 83% of the precious metals mined worldwide belonged to the King of Spain alone. As a result, the Spanish royal family and nobles were fabulously wealthy, building more fleets and expanding their wealth. Their wealth continued to flow. For a country that monopolized 83% of the world's precious metals, would they even consider jewelry that wasn't the best?"

"Why did Britain become so wealthy later on? Let's be honest. Back then, sailing was incredibly risky. Besides shipwrecks, sometimes more than half the crew would die mid-voyage. Sepsis was a terrifying disease for them—and by the way, let me brag about our ancestors. Why weren't they afraid of sepsis? Eating soybean sprouts and drinking tea can effectively supplement vitamins and reduce the risk of sepsis."

Because the risks were so great, the British invented a solution: crowdfunding to share the risk, establishing one limited liability company after another. In 1555, they established the Moscow Company, which assembled a fleet to develop the Arctic Ocean route, crossing Russia to Asia, similar to the current Arctic route. The Virginia Company, established in 1584, was designed to develop North America. In 1607, they arrived in what is now Virginia and developed the colony. There was also the Massachusetts Company, which developed Massachusetts. The Africa Company expanded into Africa, while the infamous East India Company initially focused on Asia and later the world.

"Britain's early colonial activities and overseas trade were all conducted by private companies, with profits remaining in the private sector. The royal family was only responsible for collecting taxes, and wealth was shared among shareholders rather than dictated by the royal aristocracy. This approach also promoted the development of the British securities market."

"Of course..." Xiao Peng took a puff of his cigarette and continued, "There's another reason why Spain isn't as wealthy as Britain: their king is too rich! What does being too rich mean? He spends without a count. And because they're so rich, they simply don't have a parliament. As a result, their royal power is too absolute. Until 1978, they were essentially a dictatorship. And because they're so rich, every Spanish king has spent profusely. No amount of money could satisfy their extravagance. So what do they do? They borrow money and issue national debt. Logically, they should repay their debts after receiving money from their colonies, right? But they don't. They simply default on their debts. This has been repeated every 20 years since 1575, an average of 13 times until today. From 1800 to 2008, the Spanish government has defaulted on its debts 13 times, more than any other country. Meanwhile, countries like Britain, with their royal power constrained, have never defaulted on their debts. A comparison between the two clearly reveals the difference, and it's easy to imagine which will have the better development! Enough of the rambling. Number these rubies and put them away! Keep smashing!"