"Is this your design? It's wonderful! Absolutely wonderful!" When Liang En met with Mr. Verma, who had come specifically for this, and showed him his design, Mr. Verma first froze for a moment, then revealed a look of ecstasy.
Obviously, what Liang En considered a piece purely for show, with mediocre artistic value, was exactly what Mr. Verma had hoped for, which explained his excitement.
"As long as you like it—" Seeing Mr. Verma’s excited expression, Liang En realized his idea was a bit too artistic. After all, this was a commercial creation, and the client’s vision was more important.
"Of course, I absolutely love it." Indians often express their inner thoughts more readily than Westerners, so Mr. Verma showed his joy with slightly exaggerated expressions.
"I never expected you to design such a piece of jewelry. Not only is it beautiful, but it will also perfectly promote my company. You have really put in a lot of effort."
The designed jewelry was a ring, with the face of the ring inspired by the marigold, a flower favored by Indians. It appeared roughly the size of a soda can bottom.
Unlike common symmetrical designs, each petal of the ring had a unique shape. This eight-layered piece achieved perfect integration in symmetry, design, and arrangement.
According to Liang En's design, this overly large ring would weigh over 150 grams, with about 12,600 small diamonds embedded, totaling over 38 carats.
The choice of this design was because Liang En noticed that no one in the world had thought of creating something with an absurd number of embedded gems to attract attention. So if this kind of item appeared for the first time, the advertising effect should be maximized.
Especially since Mr. Verma primarily deals with diamond processing, there couldn’t be a more suitable piece of jewelry for his business.
Moreover, the price of diamonds increases geometrically with size. Compared to a single 38-carat diamond, even the best-quality small diamonds totaling 38 carats would be much cheaper.
Therefore, the cost of this ring would not be in the materials but in the processing. After all, embedding over 12,000 diamonds into a ring is no simple task.
However, this was not a problem for Mr. Verma. Although he lacked top-tier designers, he had a significant number of skilled diamond workers.
"I'm just worried that it might be too flashy." Looking at the final product filled with gems in the computer render, Liang En frankly expressed his concern.
No matter what he had experienced or how many art masters' legacies he had inherited, Liang En was fundamentally still Chinese. He always felt that such overly dazzling things were not classy enough.
"Is this something to worry about?" Mr. Verma looked at him puzzled, "This is what makes the ring most valuable."
Aesthetic preferences are related to cultural traditions. For example, what Liang En considered tacky, heavily gem-studded designs symbolized elegance and luxury in Indian eyes, making it a major selling point.
Next, Liang En and his group followed Mr. Verma to his processing plant. Unlike before when they took the elevator straight to the top floor, this time they climbed floor by floor.
This was because Mr. Verma wanted to showcase his diamond processing capabilities to Liang En, allowing him to gain a comprehensive understanding of their diamond processing level.
After all, since they were about to collaborate, it was best to mutually display some fundamental aspects. Since Liang En had already shown his design skills, it was Mr. Verma's turn to display his diamond processing skills.
From these work environments, one could easily see why India's diamond processing industry had low costs—not only because of cheap labor but also due to the rudimentary equipment and environment in the workshops, which could still produce fine diamonds.
However, this also limited the industry's upgrade potential in India, as upgrading would mean replacing all equipment, which most people couldn't afford.
Because the primary processing involved small diamonds, security was extremely tight in the rooms, with a ratio of one security guard for every three workers.
Due to the small size of the diamonds, without strict security policies, it would be easy for someone to smuggle or steal them, causing losses.
To ensure this, the factory security was not the usual elderly gatekeepers but armed guards equipped with batons and firearms.
Considering India's class situation, Liang En believed that maintaining order here couldn't solely rely on discipline or laws. The firearms spoke volumes.
As they climbed higher, the working conditions improved, and the diamonds being processed became more refined, with private booths and air conditioning in the top-tier processing area on the fourth floor.
According to Mr. Verma, the lowest-grade diamonds were processed in the old workshops outside because the conditions there were worse, making them unsuitable for guest visits.
However, at Liang En’s request, they observed the conditions in those flat-roofed houses from a window, and it was indeed terrible. Not to mention the crowded environment, even the grinders were shared among several people.
Considering the harsh processing conditions, meager wages, and high-intensity work of 8-12 hours a day, Liang En wasn’t surprised others couldn't compete with them. However, all this was completely legal in India.
What's more absurd was that this processing plant was one of the best welfare factories in the region. If they visited other factories, the conditions would be even worse.
After visiting the diamond processing plant, they went to the jewelry manufacturing plant behind it. This plant had recently been expanded to prepare for launching their brand.
Judging from the predominantly Indian-style jewelry on site, the current business mainly targeted local consumers in India. However, such culturally rich jewelry probably wouldn’t have a large market overseas.
In the following negotiations, Liang En and Mr. Verma agreed that Liang En would design jewelry for them, earning a cash payment and a share of the sales proceeds for his designs.
Of course, the proportion of this share depended on the sales situation. The more the jewelry sold, the higher the share Liang En would receive.
Though the negotiations were intense, with both sides arguing passionately for their interests, after the negotiations ended, Mr. Verma quickly invited Liang En to visit his hometown.
Evidently, he was very satisfied with the negotiation results, which led to such a personal invitation. Considering the benefits this cooperation would bring him, Liang En gladly accepted the invitation.
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