Business as Usual

It was an odd commission, but no one else had the wherewithal to pull it off. The client was quite specific as to the size and shape of a cask to hold the finest jewel in the kingdom. It had to be a masterpiece, we all agreed, but more than that, it had to appeal to a certain collector of unusual taste. He wasn’t someone prone to public, ostentatious displays, but rather was a discreet connoisseur, someone whose recollection was hazy when it came to provenance, but had the means and connections to escape repercussions for the occasional questionable acquisition. Possibly she didn’t have the rights to sell, but then again, he lived far enough away that it didn’t matter.

In the decades we had been tapping the horde, we’d pulled stones and baubles too large to sell through our usual channels. Putting gems that size on the open market would bring the kind of notice we did our best to avoid. This commission would be a suitable opportunity to put them to use.

We couldn’t afford a hint of gossip, so we worked in small groups, fabricating the cask first. Imported cedar was sanded and polished for the bottom and hardened iron bands held plates of lead crystal to form the sides and lid.

A gold and sapphire necklace and tiara was converted into ornate hinges. Ruby earrings and bracelets became roses in the centerpiece, accented with emerald leaves recovered from a truly hideous brooch. It was hard to part with the matched pearls – those were always in demand – but we needed them to stud the handles. We twisted, flattened, annealed, braided, and wound gold and silver wire into gossamer webs of filigree to frame the top.

The last task was fabrication of a one of a kind cart, fitted with a suspension system. After all, it wouldn’t do to have it damaged in transit, not after we’d invested more than a year to create something we hoped would last for eternity.

Then it was done. And it was stunning, exuberant, extravagant, and every other adjective which could be used to describe something so audacious in form and function. The client was thrilled, the future owner on his way. All it needed was that one final component to elevate it to perfection.

She stumbled into our clearing three days later. Of course we knew who she was. We worked in a cave. We didn’t live in one. Eyes as blue as the most brilliant sapphire, lips as vivid and red as the rarest of rubies, hair the color of the finest obsidian, skin as white and luminous as freshly fallen snow. The tale she spun about her poor dead mother and missing father and evil stepmother should have softened any man’s heart.

But business was business.

We don’t know what was in the apple, but for a small percentage, we’ve been promised another one for our next commission. Seems the collector has his eyes on a blonde…