"Distinguished guests, the Tsar Nicholas II jewelry exhibition and private collection display, officially begins..."
Following the brief opening ceremony at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, the host stepped forward to announce the commencement of the exhibition. Instantly, the surrounding lights dimmed, focusing all intensity upon the center of the banquet hall. There, eight glass display cases, crafted with cutting-edge technology, held the treasures.
The arriving guests had long been eyeing these eight cases. They had endured the opening ceremony—which they viewed as a dispensable formality—with impatient, wandering minds. They had come solely for the Tsar Nicholas II collection; they had no interest in the hotel’s launch. Fortunately, the hotel management seemed to understand the psychology of their guests, as the ceremony was kept mercifully short.
Chapter 246