When Roger saw the fire opals, he called the owner Cole Winston immediately. Upon receiving the phone call and knowing of the matter, he decided to dash over at once.
As Li Du knew and the world had guessed, while Harry Winston Inc. was not in a good situation, Cole Winston was worse off.
Born with a silver spoon, this man had been swimming in luxury all his life. He was born almost at the peak of the jewelry industry, and when his grandfather Harry Winston was in his twilight years.
During the last century, the Harry Winston name had been legendary in the luxury goods industry.
In terms of the brand name, it was the world's most famous luxury jewelry brand.
This brand, which could make diamonds blossom, had been chosen as the favorite luxury jewelry brand among the elites in the United States. Celebrities in both the United States and the rest of America were especially fond of the brand.
In terms of a person's name, it was even more formidable. This gentleman was known as "the king of diamonds." He had a famous saying that still circulated in the diamond industry today: "Men conquer the world, women conquer men, and diamonds conquer women."
Cole Winston got on the flight to Las Vegas from New York. As he looked at the sunny sky outside the window, his thoughts returned to the company's heydays.
They had owned the world's three best giant diamonds.
The first diamond was called the "Jonker Diamond," which was 726 carats. It had been discovered by a South African Jacobus Jonker, and so it had been named after him.
Later, the company had also acquired its second giant diamond from Brazil, called "Vargas."
Coincidentally, the Vargas Diamond had also been 726 carats, which was exactly the same size as the Jonker Diamond. Something like this was unheard of in the diamond industry, with the probability of its occurrence being only one in a billion.
In 1972, Harry Winston got his third giant diamond: Sierra Leone
The size of Sierra Leone was an astounding 970 carats; this was the largest stone ever.
A year later, this gem was cut into 17 gemstones. The entire cutting process was televised around the world—an unprecedented move as befitting the momentous occasion.
To commemorate this major event in the history of the diamond, the country in which the diamond was discovered, Sierra Leone, also issued a set of commemorative stamps, making Winston the only jeweler who had ever been on the stamp.
That same year, the birth of Cole Winston had given this jewelry empire a new sense of vitality.
At that time, Harry Winston Inc. also owned a legendary diamond: that is, the Hope Diamond.
The Hope Diamond, which had mysteriously gone missing during the French Revolution, suddenly re-appeared in London's auction halls. Since then, it had changed hands several times before finally being bought by Harry Winston, thus ending its mystifying journey.
After receiving this gemstone, Harry Winston donated it to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C.
Yes, he'd donated it, without taking a single penny, to a collection agency. Of course, the collection agency would show their appreciation: they set-up a special Harry Winston exhibition area just for him.
At the thought of this, blood started to drip from Cole Winston's heart.
F*ck, why were you so d*mn proud, old man? Why did you donate this gemstone instead of keeping it in the family collection? Cole is suffering, suffering.
To this day, he couldn't help but admit that he was not as competent a businessman as his grandfather had been.
Or maybe their family was actually not one full of geniuses. There might have been a mutation in the family gene, or it could have been all due to their next-door neighbor, to have produced his grandfather, a whiz in business.
In any case, after his grandfather, his father hardly did a good job running the company. In fact, he had always blamed his father for running the company into the ground.
Harry Winston Inc. had implemented the primogeniture system. After Ronald Winston took over, the company's business started to decline.
In order to keep the company running, he had decided to diversify into new areas of business: that of clocks and watches.
At this thought, Cole Winston could not help but curse again. F*ck, have you got sh*t covering your eyes, Dad? Why did you start the watch business? Why did you not enter the real estate business? Why didn't you buy land in the United States and build on it just like how Trump had?
The watch industry was in deep water; the American jewelry store had enjoyed a good reputation throughout the world, but not for watches. Everyone was buying the best watches from Switzerland and Northern Europe. No one was buying watches from the United States.
But as Harry Winston had left behind a solid home base, Ronald could do harm to it but still avoid causing it to collapse. It was a different story after it had landed in Cole Winston's hands. The current situation was dire.
Without famed gemstones or funds to support him, the resources left behind by the old man would not last forever.
After all, his grandfather's network had all been from his own generation. Since he'd been born in 1896, those from his generation were no longer around today!
It was great to have the primogeniture system in place; Cole Winston had known since childhood that he was going to be in charge of a huge jewelry empire in the future and had been longing for this day.
He was not a bad man, and he hadn't put a curse on his father to die sooner so that he could take over. But to be honest, he'd been really happy when his father had suffered ill health and had no choice but to relinquish his position.
It was finally Cole Winston's time—it had started!
But soon after he'd taken over, he was at a loss. F*ck, how did he get deficits year after year? F*ck, how did Tiffany, Bvlgari and Cartier steal our customers? F*ck, aren't we the best luxury jewelry brand among the elites in society?
The financial situation was bad, the business was bad, and the condition of the diamond reserve was bad. Cole Winston felt bad from head to toe.
He ran to see his father on his sickbed and asked him what was going on. His father, Ronald was in tears. "Sorry son. Your father's useless and couldn't bring the business to new heights. Its future is now in your hands!"
In his hands? Cole Winston recalled the scene and couldn't help but feel sad and disappointed. You've enjoyed good times for thirty years and now you've left a mess for me. Isn't this unfair?
At this thought, he felt immense heartache. His heart hurt. It hurt a lot.
But Cole was someone with a sense of responsibility. Harry Winston Inc. was a centennial enterprise and a 100-year-old brand—he couldn't let it crumble in his hands.
He was enterprising, and he tried all means to improve the company's situation. Bad financial situation? Then take loans! Get financing!
The management was system poor? This meant the replacement of all those cousins and aunts who had not been pulling their weight with professional talents!
Problem with the supply of gemstones? Then they would buy a diamond mine and dig for diamonds by themselves!
Such a strategy eventually led to the company being in the current situation. The diamond mine he had invested in was an abandoned mine. He had been duped by the son of b*tch Australian mineral company!
At this thought, his heart ached so much he had to gasp for breath. How could anyone be so down on his luck?!