Walking further in, I heard the auctioneer's microphone calling out bids.
Stepping into the hall of the house, a huge crystal chandelier hung in the center, its soft light illuminating the entire room.
On the stage stood a female auctioneer in a red dress, energetically calling out bids for a green jade 'Wushupai' (peace charm).
"Five million once, five million twice, five million thrice, sold! Congratulations to this lady!"
At this moment, everyone was focused on the auction items on stage, so no one noticed him.
Jiang Cheng subtly surveyed his surroundings, and after a quick look, he casually found a seat in the back row.
The setup of this auction was not grand; it was clearly not a serious and formal auction venue.
It looked more like a small auction held within a cocktail party, but there were quite a few people raising their hands to bid, so the atmosphere was still good.
After several rounds of bidding, Jiang Cheng started to feel a bit bored, mainly because there was nothing he fancied. Just as he was about to get up and leave, a Patek Philippe enamel ladies' watch was brought onto the display stand.
The female auctioneer introduced the watch: "This enamel watch is a private collection of Ms. An, a top watch collector. As everyone knows, although Patek Philippe's enamel watches are not highly priced, each enamel design is a unique piece. This means that once an enamel pattern is designed, only one watch is made, so everyone need not worry about duplicates. The starting bid for this enamel watch today is five hundred thousand, and each bid increment must not be less than one hundred thousand. Let the bidding begin!"
Jiang Cheng was slightly surprised by the price, not because it was cheap, but because it was a bit expensive. The official release price of this Patek Philippe enamel watch was only a little over one hundred thousand.
However, although a few unique enamel watches are released every year, in reality, these enamel watches are usually directly pre-ordered by certain super VIP users before they even hit the shelves. Generally speaking, ordinary buyers simply don't have the opportunity to purchase them.
Thinking about it this way, it suddenly became understandable why the price of such enamel watches is so high in the secondary market or at auctions, after all, scarcity commands value.
In a short while, the price of this enamel watch had already reached eight hundred thousand.
Looking at the enamel ladies' watch in front of him, Jiang Cheng suddenly thought of his mother, Li Yan.
This watch would suit his mother's temperament very well. It would be nice to find a way to let her wear it.
Just as the bid of eight hundred thousand was about to be finalized, Jiang Cheng raised his hand.
After Jiang Cheng raised his hand, the auctioneer on stage quickly called out the price.
"Nine hundred thousand! Is there anyone else who wants to bid? Nine hundred thousand once, nine hundred thousand twice, nine hundred thousand thrice! Congratulations to gentleman number 35 for bidding on a Patek Philippe enamel ladies' watch."
After the female auctioneer brought down the hammer, the people sitting in the front row all turned to look at Jiang Cheng.
A watch that originally cost a little over one hundred thousand was now being sold for many times that amount, which was indeed extravagant.
Soon, a new auction item was brought onto the stage.
"The next watch to be auctioned is also provided by Ms. An, a top watch collector. It is the Richard Mille RM056. Richard Mille, I believe everyone has heard of this brand. Although it is a relatively young brand, it has become a top watch brand comparable to Patek Philippe in just over ten years since its establishment. And the Richard Mille RM056 being auctioned here today is worth tens of millions, truly the king of their many watch models! This model is limited to ten pieces worldwide, and the starting bid is 15 million! Each bid increment must not be less than five hundred thousand! Let the bidding begin!"
Hearing this price, Jiang Cheng was momentarily stunned again. This time, he wasn't stunned because it was expensive, but because fifteen million was actually a bit cheap.
Before his rebirth, Jiang Cheng remembered that the price of this Richard Mille RM056, which resembled a children's smartwatch, had already been hyped up to twenty-five million in the secondary market.
However, Jiang Cheng quickly realized why.
It was 2017, and according to the auctioneer, the Richard Mille brand had only been established for just over ten years at this time.
At this point, the watch was not yet very famous. Its true rise to prominence would likely be when Douyin (TikTok) short videos became explosively popular.
That would be in 2018, next year, when the Richard Mille watch would gradually enter the public's view due to the popularity of short videos.
The reason Jiang Cheng knew about this watch was also because of Douyin's big data recommendation algorithm.
His father, Jiang Jianmin, always wore various famous Rolex watches, and influenced by him, Jiang Cheng himself would more or less pay attention to watches.
And ever since he started using Douyin, big data would daily recommend various famous watches to him, often worth tens of millions.
At that time, Jiang Cheng often complained that Douyin thought too highly of him, a poor second-generation rich kid, recommending only series he couldn't afford.
But at this very moment, Jiang Cheng suddenly felt a bit grateful for Douyin's recommendation mechanism. It turned out this was all paving the way for him after his rebirth.
Before his rebirth, he could only look at pictures, but after his rebirth, it seemed perfectly fine to just buy one and wear it. Whether or not to buy it completely depended on Jiang Cheng's personal preference.
At this moment, he didn't hesitate at all and raised his bidding paddle.
The female auctioneer saw Jiang Cheng raise his hand again and couldn't help but look at him more closely.
"Gentleman number 35, 15.5 million! Is there anyone else who wants to bid?"
As soon as the auctioneer finished speaking, a young man with slender arms and a tattooed forearm raised his paddle.
"Gentleman number 8, 16 million! Gentleman number 8, 16 million! Is there anyone else who wants to bid?"
Jiang Cheng heard this and raised his hand again.
"Gentleman number 35, 16.5 million!"
After Jiang Cheng finished, the thin, tattooed man raised his hand again.
"Gentleman number 8, 17 million!"
Jiang Cheng frowned and raised his paddle again. He was quite surprised, not expecting someone else to be interested in this watch like him.
In fact, only the two of them were raising their hands at the scene; no one else seemed interested in participating.
At this time, those who were familiar with the Richard Mille brand were only the rich second-generations and tycoons in their upper-class circles.
In another two years, when its popularity increases, you will see many rich second-generations and celebrities wearing watches of this brand when you go to nightclubs.
Compared to the skyrocketing prices later, now was the perfect time to acquire this watch.
After all, this RM056 is known as the 'billionaire's entry ticket' and the symbol of a top-tier rich second-generation!