Ronnie Mervis: This is Ronnie Mervis from Mervis Diamond Importers, and we are going to talk about a very important subject, and that is called money. When times are tight people ask me, how do I save some money on diamond jewelry? Well, I think it's a fair question, and let's deal with it.

Money is important, and you should spend what you can afford and what you can get for the money, and it's not a good idea to break the bank and get yourself into any kind of a difficult situation. There are some ways where you can spend your money wisely, and let's talk about them.

Firstly, keep it simple. Go for a simple solitaire ring, with one diamond in the center, and a very plain solitaire ring around it. It's not necessary to go for an ornate or a fancy ring, with side stones or any decoration at the initial point, you can always add it later. Secondly, go for a ring as big as you can afford, and let's keep the size up, and let's keep the flash, which is the function of the cut, up. But we can afford to let the color drop a little, because most times you can't notice it, and you can afford to let the clarity drop quite a lot, because most of the times you can't notice that either. So I think that the essence of this exercise is to put the money and the focus on those things that you can see. The two things that you can see the most are flash or brilliance or bling or whatever name you want to give it, and let's make sure that the diamond is cut perfectly, so that the diamond has a lot of flash. Let's keep the size up, so that you and you friends and her friends and her mother and everybody else can see it. But a lower color, and I always talk about color as being important, here is the one place where you can drop the color grade or two and no one will notice the difference, because in any event the differences are only clearly visible when you line up the diamonds of different grades right up against each other and you compare them.

So you are going to be buying one only and you won't have the chance of comparing them against the other, and you can afford to drop a color or two. And the same with clarity. Clarity means the absence or the presence of tiny little birthmarks of nature in the diamond. And if the money is tight, and you are trying to get as much as you can, for as little as possible, here is where you can afford to let the clarity drop a little. Not too much. You are never going to let clarity drop to the point where inclusions in the stone are either visible to the eye, where they affect the strength and integrity of the diamond, but if it's a budgetary issue, you can afford to go down just a tad.

Now, the very, very important thing about price is that people want as much as they can get for as little money as possible. But it's not a good idea to go with a lowest price, because lowest price means lowest quality. And quality is something that you should never compromise on. Go with a good quality diamond, meaning a good cut, and a nice size. You can drop the other criteria as I said, but that is not sacrificing quality, that is just playing with the various permutations which make up the diamond.

You don't necessarily want the lowest price; you want the best value at a low price. Make sure that you are getting plenty of good quality diamond for a reasonable sum of money, and that makes sense. But buying a bad diamond for little money is never going to make you happy and it's never going to make her happy. You are always going to be upset and disappointed, maybe even embarrassed, with what you get, so don't do that.

There are many fine organizations who will work with you in making it possible for you to stretch the dollar, to get a bigger, better diamond in a slightly lower range of parameters, for less money, and that's the way you should go, rather than looking for a schlocky diamond at no money, because that will never cut it for you, and you will regret it forever, because you will know what you are doing. And you will know that if you bought something which is totally imperfect, it is representative of the lack of respect for the person you are getting it for, and that will bother you forever.

We are talking about saving money, and so two things should be said. One is the reputation of the dealer is very important, because even at a low price, a good dealer, with a large organization and a large inventory of diamonds, will be able to satisfy your need at any price point. And secondly, know that if you are dealing with a reputable firm, you can always bring it back and move up, which you can't do with somebody who doesn't have the reputation and who doesn't have the organization that can take back your diamond years later and exchange with somebody else.

In our situation, we deal with a huge quantity of diamonds, we have them in all colors and all sizes and all shapes and all everything. Although we like to say we deal with the best, because we get them as they come, there are always some which are not quite at the top of the selection, but they are nice diamonds as well, and they are priced lower, and they are available from time to time. And they are there for you if you ask for them. So no shame in having to stretch the budget, there is a diamond for you. Just make sure you are at the right place. Thank you very much.