Wealthy after rebirth

Chapter 244 Antiquorum Auction House

"The auction brochure sent by Antiquorum Auction House, the servant said it was delivered yesterday afternoon..."

Jack Li shrugged.

Shi Yining took off the scarf around his neck with one hand, flipped through the auction manual with a strange expression, and slipped an invitation letter from the manual.

The invitation letter did not specify who was invited by name, it just said that the distinguished sir/madam was invited to participate in the annual Christmas auction.

"Manor Lavaux had been empty for several years before I moved in. It was less than a week after I moved in, and people knew about it. The confidentiality work was not in place..."

No need to guess, the Antiquorum Auction House learned from a special channel that a rich man lived in Lavaux Manor, and specially sent an invitation letter for the auction.

Li Jieke spread his hands and said helplessly: "Those auction houses always have a way to get this information, but fortunately, they probably don't know your details!"

Shi Yining didn't pay attention to those details. He bought Lavaux Manor through official channels, and the movement was not small. Even if the auction house could find his detailed information, it would not be surprising. He took the auction brochure and sat on the sofa to look at it.

"Antigulen? The name of this auction house is very unfamiliar. Do any of you know it?"

The auction house is an ancient existence, and the behavior of auctioning appeared earlier, dating back to the fifth century BC. The ancient Greek historian Herodotus described in detail in his book "History" It describes the annual auction held in the ancient city of Babylon.

Although the auction at that time was very primitive and there was a great difference compared with today's auction activities, it has to be admitted that it had the basic characteristics of an auction.

The ancient Romans took the auction a step further. At the end of the second century AD, an auction house appeared in ancient Rome, and the auction items were much wider than before. Statues, tapestries, and court supplies can all be transferred by auction.

Due to the professional nature of the auction house, it began to establish its relevant rules, such as the announcement of the auction before the auction and the appraisal of the auction item. The concept of the reserve price of the auction object appeared. Also began to adopt the method of increasing price auction and so on.

In modern times, auction rules have been perfected, and the turnover of works of art auctioned by formal auction houses has increased year by year.

"Well... this auction house called Antiquorum is an auction house in Switzerland."

As a secretary, Huang Jiayan heard that her boss had something she didn't know about, so of course she immediately looked up the information to clear up the confusion.

"In Switzerland, Antiquorum is a very famous auction house. It was established in 1974 and specializes in the auction of antique clocks. It is in line with the Swiss watch industry."

After Huang Jiayan's explanation, Shi Yining had a preliminary understanding of Antiquorum Auction House.

For the field of auction houses, Shi Yining only knows Sotheby's and Christie's. These two auction houses are almost the leaders in the auction industry today. Sotheby's was born in London in 1744, while Christie's was 22 years later, in 1766. Founded by James Christie.

Compared with Sotheby's and Christie's, the Antiquorum auction house established in 1974 is too young.

The managers of Antiquorum also seem to know that it is very difficult to shake the leader in the auction industry, so it is very wise to specialize in one field and only conduct auctions of antique clocks.

Thanks to the local cultural environment in Switzerland, Antiquorum Auction House has done very well in the field of antique clock auctions. Although the highest record of clock auctions was not born at Antiquorum Auction House, antique clocks with a transaction price of more than one million Swiss francs The vast majority are from Antiquorum Auction House.

“It’s an auction house that specializes in antique clocks and watches. It’s interesting. I like this spirit of focusing on one thing!”

Shi Yining crossed his legs and opened the auction manual with great interest, praising the spirit of focusing on one thing, while he himself blossomed in many fields...

There is no way, even if you want to cover up your strength, you can't cover it up.

With the application of patents for each engine technology, the reputation of thermal energy and power engineering has also been improved, from "0" to more than 100.

More than 100 is still far from the full value of 100 million, but Shi Yining is not in a hurry. With his current wealth, his desire for prestige is no longer as good as before, and living a good life is more important.

The auction brochure is one centimeter thick. Whether it is paper, ink or printing, the standard is very high. From this aspect, we can see the attitude of Antiquorum Auction House.

Each lot will be recorded in detail in the book, several large and clear pictures, with detailed information on the lot, and even some lots will be marked with the information of the previous owner.

Although the auction brochure is thick and thick, the number of lots published in it is actually not many. There are only more than [-] pieces in total, each of which is carefully selected by Antiquorum Auction House. After all, it is an annual Christmas auction, so it is naturally sloppy. no.

Flipping through the auction items one by one, Shi Yining was not very interested in old watches, but when he opened a page again and saw a portrait of a man with tongue sticking out and messy hair, he was shocked.

"This is... Einstein's old watch!?"

Shi Yining pointed to a Longines watch with a golden frame on the auction brochure and asked in surprise.

"Einstein? True or false?"

Huang Jiayan came to Shi Yining's side and looked at the auction catalog curiously. She was more interested in wristwatches than Shi Yining, but it was limited to those BlingBling art watches, and she was not interested in old antique watches, but When she heard Einstein's name, she was attracted without any surprise.

Jack Li and Evans on the side both looked at Shi Yining. There was nothing they could do. Einstein's reputation was too great.

Founded the special theory of relativity and general relativity, put forward the light quantum hypothesis, solved the problem of the photoelectric effect, the law of energy conservation, the cosmological constant...

A series of esoteric theories made Einstein the greatest physicist of the twentieth century. His name is a household name. Even if we look at the entire history of mankind, there are only a handful of people who can compare with him in science.

All this makes everything related to Einstein look different, even a watch that Einstein once owned has a different meaning!

According to the introduction in the auction catalog, this is a product produced by Longines in 1929 and was purchased by a great figure in the physics world in Los Angeles in 1931.

The watch has an elegant barrel-shaped case, with a pure white surface and twelve simple Arabic numerals. The second timer is designed at six o'clock, and the slim hollow hands move precisely. The black leather strap looks elegant as a whole. noble.

The back of the watch is engraved with the words "Professor Albert Einstein, Los Angeles, February 1931, 2".

"Could it be a gimmick compiled by the auction house?"

Huang Jiayan is skeptical about the authenticity of this watch and the story behind it. In her inherent cognition, the world's great people are too far away from her, and she never thought of being able to get in touch with related items.

Shi Yining was very interested, he said with a smile: "Einstein's life is not so far away from us, less than 100 years ago, and Einstein was already very famous at that time, his things will definitely be highly appreciated. Pay attention, as long as it is not mysteriously missing, the source can be traced!"

Although he also has doubts, he believes more that, from a historical point of view, a hundred years is not too long ago. In addition, auction houses are generally very concerned about their own wings. He is more afraid of being deceived by bidders than bidders. There are many ways to verify the authenticity of the lot.

Huang Jiayan saw Shi Yining's interest and guessed: "I heard what you mean...do you want to participate in this auction?"

"Anyway, everything is done. We still have to wait for a long time at Baomei and Chaubrin. I have nothing to do. Zurich is only more than 200 kilometers away from Geneva. Why not go?"

While talking, Shi Yining flipped through the page about Einstein's watch, and found that there was a pocket watch at the back, but he didn't look at it seriously, he just glanced at it briefly and closed the auction brochure.

The boss's decision is the highest instruction, and everyone prepares for the start of the trip.

There are many ways to travel from Zurich to Geneva, including tourist buses, trains, planes and self-driving.

If it was a different season, Shi Yining would choose to take the train to Geneva and take a leisurely stroll around the lakes and mountains, but in the cold winter, he chose the fastest way, the plane.

On the afternoon of the second day after receiving the invitation letter, Zurich Airport took off, and more than half an hour later, the plane landed at Geneva International Airport.

Jack Li set off in advance to Geneva and rented a car. He had lived in this city for a while and was familiar with everything here.

Boss Shi left the airport in a Maybach S-class, recalling the scene he saw in the airport before, and had some thoughts.

"After finishing the work on the power of the sea monster, it is necessary to buy a plane, otherwise it is really inconvenient to travel normally!"

At the airport before, Shi Yining saw a Boeing private jet, and a group of people walked off the plane from the boarding stairs covered with red carpets. That feeling should be pretty good.

"Every time you go to a place, you have to rent a car. It's inconvenient and has safety risks. It's better to buy a plane and bring your own car. It's safe and saves trouble. Jack, don't you think so?"

Boss Shi is very considerate of his subordinates, and considers issues from the perspective of his subordinates.

Li Jieke kept nodding with a strange expression on his face, and said, "Boss, what you said is really reasonable, and I agree with it."

"My idea is really great. Buy, definitely buy, and buy a bigger plane than the one just now. I think at least..."

Shi Yining began to seriously plan to buy an airplane, began to consider the advantages and disadvantages of various models, and discussed it with Evans in a serious manner!
Huang Jiayan secretly made an exaggerated expression. She was shocked by Boss Shi's brain circuit. Sure enough, when a person's wealth reaches a certain level, his perspective on things will change.

She would be envious when she saw other people owning private jets, but Boss Shi didn't intend to just be envious, he wanted to own one, and he wanted to have a better one!

In Boss Shi's view, this is not comparison, it is called optimal choice.

Shi Yining and his group were chatting vigorously in the car, when Huang Jiayan's cell phone rang suddenly, she glanced at it for a reminder, then answered the call, and after a while, covered the receiver and said to Shi Yining.

"The Royal Suite at the President Wilson Hotel is vacant, do you still want to go?"

Before coming to Geneva, Huang Jiayan booked a hotel in advance. At first, Shi Yining fell in love with the President Wilson Hotel, which is known as the most expensive hotel in the world. Unfortunately, even if he showed the Centurion Black Gold Card, the other party still expressed regret that it was full.

As the second largest city in Switzerland, Geneva is a world-renowned international city, and there are too many international organizations or offices set up in this city.

United Nations Environment Program, World Health Organization, International Labor Organization, United Nations Refugee Agency, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, World Intellectual Property Organization, International Telecommunication Union, World Meteorological Organization, World Trade Organization, CERN, International Organization for Standardization, World Economic Forum, International Committee of the Red Cross, etc.

There are [-] to [-] intergovernmental international organizations headquartered in Geneva, and [-] to [-] non-governmental international organizations.

It is precisely because of the existence of these organizations that Geneva is full of vitality, prosperous and busy.

The business of the hotel is very good, really overwhelming.

As a last resort, Shi Yining had to choose another hotel next to Lake Geneva. Unexpectedly, the President Wilson Hotel would have rooms again.

"Go, of course!"

Shi Yining made a decision without hesitation. He could buy a manor next to Lake Geneva, but he wanted to experience what is known as the most expensive hotel in the world and see what it has in store.

After receiving Shi Yining's reply, Huang Jiayan replied to the hotel. Jack Li turned the car and drove towards the President Wilson Hotel.

If a hotel wants to be the most expensive in the world, it does not mean that someone will pay the bill if you just call out the high price. It needs a combination of many factors to be recognized by customers. For example, the President Wilson Hotel, its excellence is not only the hotel itself.

The location adds a lot to the President Wilson Hotel. It is located near the Geneva Park, and the surrounding environment is very beautiful. You can have a panoramic view of Lake Geneva, and you can also overlook the mountains and hills of Mont Blanc. The convenience of transportation is not lost because of the beautiful environment.

The number of guest rooms in the entire President Wilson Hotel is quite large. Ordinary rooms and suites are actually not commendable. They are not much different from ordinary ultra-luxury hotels. Only the royal suite is truly worthy of the experience of the top rich!

The Royal Suite is located on the top floor of the hotel and has twelve bedrooms. Each bedroom has an independent bathroom and a spacious balcony, and each balcony can perfectly overlook the surrounding scenery.

The unique resources make the royal suite expensive, even if the price is as high as [-] Swiss francs a night, it still attracts the rich.

The fee of [-] Swiss francs is only the basic room rate. In addition to providing ultra-luxury living standards, the hotel also provides customized services. The smell, layout, temperature, and environment in the room can be arranged according to the preferences of customers. , but these services will incur additional costs.

(End of this chapter)