Old Money's Gift

The Mellon gifted the CEO of Stark Studios a reproduction of a Leonardo da Vinci painting, which didn't garner much media attention, but within certain circles, it was a significant event.

Tony Stark isn't envious of anyone, not even a little bit, when it comes to the people closest to him!

He simply listed all three masters of the Renaissance, and then criticized everything from medieval religious art to Pablo Picasso's abstract art, as if the entire history of art was worthless.

Anyway, he's an engineering student. If someone made him a life-size 11-meter Gundam model, he might even lift an eyelid.

But is this all good?

That's not entirely true.

Henry later learned that the appraisal meeting convened by the Mellon had caused a huge uproar in the art world.

When it comes to art and antiques, the key lies in the seller's integrity and the buyer's discerning eye. If someone gets scammed, they can simply deny everything once the money is exchanged.

However, in this field rife with counterfeit goods, all those who claim to possess genuine items, including museums, are gathered together. Then, like a contest, expert appraisers determine their authenticity.

Such behavior is akin to buying a bunch of sports cars from various brands, but instead of letting them compete on the track, you have them colliding two by two to test which one is the most rigid.

Once proven to be fake, won't the original sellers of these so-called genuine works face resentment from the owners? Whether the original seller intentionally defrauded, or simply lacked the expertise and fell for the scam themselves, what happens when this reputation spreads? Will they still be able to do business?

Those notorious dealers can only fool laymen on a daily basis; no expert would want to do business with them.

But when it comes to truly large-scale transactions, it's still these kinds of deals that claim to be genuine goods.

For merchants, setting prices too high can scare away inexperienced buyers who are willing to learn the ropes. And their transaction amounts...

For seasoned professionals, this is nothing, not even a hair on their head.

Therefore, art dealers who truly do business with insiders care a great deal about their reputation.

Selling counterfeit goods or having poor taste—either of these criticisms is fatal for art dealers.

This is why the psychiatric evaluation convened by the Mellon was so hated.

These two elderly people, in their eighties, certainly wouldn't care about such a small grudge. However, breaking the rules still caused them some inconvenience.

Both are passionate about art collecting and have even overseen the creation of a museum. Even if such resentment is not obvious, receiving news a step behind others or being put on the waiting list for negotiations is a nuisance for them.

But What If...? they redirect this resentment elsewhere, wouldn't they be able to regain their position at the forefront of the art market?

This was accomplished with a fake oil painting that was given away.

Why hold an authentication meeting? Because someone said the original is here. And that person is this guy.

Henry learned of this some time later.

Moreover, it wasn't any clear guidance from anyone. They only gave some hints, and Henry followed the clues to find out the truth, ultimately filling in the blanks in his mind.

Is it authentic? Henry couldn't guarantee it. But one thing was certain: Old Money's gift was not something easily accepted.

Anyway, he wasn't involved in the art world, and his wealth wasn't enough to qualify him. So he just accepted it, and Henry didn't care. He'd gotten a high-quality replica of an antique for free.

Another task related to my area of responsibility was digital imaging. Assisting Mrs. Rachel Lambert Mellon with restoring old photographs and videos was like giving Stark Studios a major blow.

I heard that the lady now takes out her digitally restored color photos from her youth to everyone she meets and tells them stories. Even at their home in Oak Spring Farm, there are many more enlarged photos of the couple from their younger days.

This kind of word-of-mouth publicity is incredibly powerful within the circles the Mellon frequent!

This forced Henry to set up a separate digital restoration department within Stark Studios, open to the public, specifically to handle the business of the Old Money. Otherwise, he would have been driven crazy by the ulterior motives behind these rich people's expressions of concern.

Because this business is still unique, although some of their counterparts in the information industry have also started offering digital restoration services.

However, because Stark Studios' latest cutting-edge technology had not yet been made public, the poor quality of the work produced by these individuals almost led to them being sued by the greedy Old Money, who was looking for a bargain.

In short, the profits from this exclusive business are astonishing, and the consumers are affluent elites. Furthermore, Henry never intended to set a low price so that everyone could afford it.

The newly established digital restoration department is poised to become a new pillar of revenue for Stark Studios.

Therefore, it's hard to say whether they gained or lost in this round of competition with the Mellon.

With Old Money leading the way, Stark Studios ' cinematic digital imaging technology naturally came into the view of more people.

Although UHD technology, comparable to 35mm film, is limited by hardware constraints and cannot yet be widely adopted, digital imaging equipment with better resolution than television is being accepted by more directors and producers, especially production teams looking to save costs.

In addition to these two new businesses, Stark Studios has also continued its digital restoration efforts on classic films in its film library.

Henry even asked the distribution department to partner with an old movie theater, funding the upgrade of its projection equipment, and have the theater show Stark Studios' digitally restored older films on a rotating basis.

Such classic retrospectives have indeed attracted many longtime fans to reminisce about the past; they have also attracted some young people interested in movies to enjoy the classics on the big screen.

By simply selling nostalgia and showing in only one theater, it still managed to achieve decent box office revenue, with at least every screening having an empty seat.

While this box office revenue won't cover the costs of the digital restoration, this move is more like a show of force for Stark Studios.

Even among film fans, there has been a growing demand for other film companies to digitally restore classic films from their copyrighted film libraries.

Of course, the eight major Hollywood Big Eight film studios approached Stark Studios for talks. But once the financial statements were laid out, everyone agreed with Henry's statement that the time was not yet right.

We'll have to wait for home theater equipment to be upgraded, or to put it more bluntly, for Blu-ray and HD TVs to be released, so that the results of digital restoration can be sold on DVDs, and only then will this work be profitable.

Nowadays, people who digitally restore classic films, even if they're showing in a movie theater, don't have any sentimental value involved.

It's really unsustainable. The losses are huge.

Even if other film companies wanted to force Stark Studios to disclose the relevant technology, nine out of ten would back down after seeing that supercomputer as the platform.

The remaining person, after inquiring about the cost of building and maintaining a supercomputer, immediately gave up in fear.

Only someone as hot-headed as Tony Stark, who was insane, would allow Stark Studios Stark Industries do something like this.

In fact, a strategic intention that few outsiders notice is that Tony Stark also intends to leverage the high-end demand of Stark Studios to strongly promote the technology of Stark Industries.

This was like his second clash with Henry Brown after they built the supercomputer. Whoever couldn't keep up with the other's moves first would be the loser.

That damn Moore's Law was kicked straight into the trash heap by Tony Stark.