Rishi had been exposed to gemstones and jewelry since childhood. Coming from a family that had a chain of high-end jewelry outlets, he had worked with all kinds of rubies and sapphires, antique Kundan sets. He could assess most jade or semi-precious stones by eye.
However, as soon as he had the bracelet Alex passed over in his hand, his sixth sense clicked into gear.
Not a word spoken, Rishi pulled a jeweller's loupe and a flashlight out of his pocket—forever at hand. He hunched forward and studied the bracelet closely.
The more he examined it, the graver his expression became.
"Oh damn."
"Alex, where did you find this?"
"The texture… the translucence… the surface polish—is Type A jadeite," he grunted. "Natural, untreated, with high translucency."
"Feels cool to the touch, even in this heat. And look at the colour gradient… This is museum-grade, man!"
Rishi was astonished.
What Alex had simply handed him was not any jade—it was natural Burmese jadeite bracelet, maybe from Myanmar, and the type that hadn't been dug in decades because of strict export bans.
In the world of gems, Type A jadeite was the holy grail—natural, untouched, and extremely rare.
He gazed at Alex once more, this time with incredulity.
Should this be genuine, it could get up to ₹1–2 crore, depending on the purchaser and authenticity.
"Bro… where did you even source this?" Rishi queried once more, attempting to remain calm.
"It's been home for some time. I'm strapped financially, so thought I'd finally let it go," Alex said nonchalantly.
"Sell it to my family!" Rishi exclaimed hastily. "We'll lab-certify it and pay a good price—honestly."
"If I wasn't serious about it, I would never have called you," Alex smiled.
"You're a straight shooter, man!" Rishi punched him in the back. "Come on back with me. My dad has to be involved in this. This amount of money demands official negotiation—and a serious buyer."
Alex nodded, and the two left the café, one calm, the other nearly bursting with excitement.
-----------------------------
40 minutes later…
Rishi drove Alex to a lavish bungalow in Mumbai's Juhu locality.
"Dad! Come here quick!"
"My friend's selling a high-grade jadeite bracelet—might be worth a fortune!"
"We need your expert eyes on this!"
He shouted excitedly as they entered the villa.
From the couch in the living room, Mr. Rajiv Mehra—Rishi's father—stood up. Having been a veteran in the business of gemstones and jewellery for more than four decades, he stood up instantly on hearing the word jadeite.
"A jadeite bracelet, you say? Let me see."
Rishi carefully put the bracelet on the marble coffee table.
Not a moment wasted, Mr. Mehra removed a gemological testing kit from his study. In the light of a bright inspection lamp, he started examining the article with professional precision—refractometer, spectroscope, and jeweller's loupe.
Unlike the more emotional response of Rishi, Mr. Mehra was composed and analytical.
Having examined every detail for a few minutes, he put the instruments aside.
"This is amazing," he exclaimed, eyes sparkling.
"No doubt—it's Type A natural jadeite. Old-cut, untreated, and well-preserved."
"But…" he added thoughtfully, "the colour grade isn't imperial green. It leans toward apple green, which places it in the second tier."
"In today's market, this would fetch around ₹1.8 to ₹2 crore."
Then, turning to Alex, he offered,
"But since you're a friend of my son's—and we'd like to keep this deal in-house—I'll round it up and offer ₹2.1 crore."
Rishi expelled a soft gasp.
"Whoa. even second-grade jadeite selling for this much?"
He stared at Alex in amazement. "Man, this is crazy."
He knew his dad's knowledge was second to none. If Mr. Mehra paid this price, the piece truly was worth every rupee—and even more if sold privately or through an auction.
Mr. Mehra pushed his glasses up his nose and stared straight at Alex.
"So, young man. Are you sure you wish to sell this?
"This kind of jadeite is rare. There's a real market for it, and we'd make a small margin reselling it. But I'll be honest—pieces like this don't come around often."
Alex nodded slowly, still trying to process the sheer number he'd just heard.
Two crore and ten lakh rupees.
He had expected maybe a few lakhs… maybe.
But this?
"I'm selling," he said, trying to keep his voice level.
Inside, his heart was racing.
"Splendid!" Mr. Mehra smiled with pleasure. "I will have the papers prepared at once. After the contract is signed, I will send the money to your account straight away."
He asked the butler to get the agreement ready.
Shortly thereafter, Alex signed the document, formally transferring the jadeite bracelet to Mr. Mehra.
As promised, Mr. Mehra didn't lose any time. In no time, the deal was done, and a message vibrated on Alex's phone.
"Your account ending in XXXX4561 has been credited with ₹2,10,00,000."
He gazed at the SMS for some seconds, almost wondering if it was a dream or an error.
He tallied the zeroes—twice.
No error. It was actually ₹2.1 crore.
His heart beat furiously.
This must be what it is to suddenly become a crorepati.
The experience was otherworldly—like the air was thinner, like life itself had changed lanes.
That afternoon, Rishi's parents, still buzzing from the rare find, treated Alex like an honoured guest and invited him to stay for dinner. They chatted warmly over a lavish meal, and it was clear the Mehras held him in high regard now—not just as Rishi's friend, but as someone who had brought value and trust to their family business.
After supper, rather than going directly home, Alex thought of stopping by the Auto City showroom nearby.
With that amount of money now in his account, there was nothing to keep him back.
He'd been fantasizing about a nice ride for some time.
So, after seeing a couple of models, he looked straight at a high-end Mercedes-Benz G-Class—luxurious, tough, and all he'd ever dreamed of. The on-road price was a bit more than ₹1.2 crore, but for the first time in his life, he didn't even flinch at the price.
By the time he drove the monster home and parked it outside his small rental apartment, it was already 11 p.m.
He sat in the automobile for several minutes, staring at the dashboard, absorbing it all—the feel of the leather steering wheel, the smell of a new car, the stillness of power.
Then he got out, locked the vehicle with a beep, and stood there gazing up at the night sky.
"This place doesn't suit me anymore," he said softly, taking a look at the small building where he lived in a room.".
"Property prices here are insane… Even with ₹1 crore left, I'd barely get a half-decent flat in Mumbai," he sighed, realizing how little that kind of money stretched in a city like this.
"I need to go back to ancient times to make more money."
Alex grumbled to himself with a look of eagerness on his face.
He had already set aside a new crate of mineral water, with the definite plan of going back in time once more—this time, not only to trade water for gold, but to learn more about that enigmatic ancient girl. Who was she, anyway? Was she merely a common village girl, or did she, in reality, belong to some sort of royal lineage?
And also, another question nagged his mind—after taking that half bottle of water he had given her, had her father indeed been saved?
With these two questions nagging him in the head, Alex fell into a deep and serene sleep.