There is a certain field in behavioural science that enthrals me. It is the behaviour of anchoring. Put simply, anchoring is the process by which people are exposed to an idea from which they develop a starting reference and it is this reference, be it correct or incorrect that people will base decisions from. Through trial and error, this reference or anchor will shift, thereby affecting the relativity of the decisions.
We see it all the time in society. For someone like me who spends a great deal of time shopping/reading/day dreaming, the process of anchoring has left a somewhat aloof view of the world. In the space of just over one year, there were things that I would have considered to be preposterous and yet now seems rather normal and perhaps mundane. It is the ordinary things that surprises me and how anchoring has affected my views or rather, how anchoring no longer shocks me back to reality.
For example , the million dollar Mayback saloon seems quite ordinary after seeing so many on the streets of London; or the $30,000 crocodile leather Hermes Birkin with platinum and diamond hardware seems rather reasonable; or the flotilla $10 million yachts in Sydney Harbour; or the $170 French shoe horn for a bit of class; or the $50,000 Louis Vuitton mink coat appears decent; or the $400 black Chanel boomerang for a bit of Australian authenticity; or the $170 degustation menu at Tetsuya’s; or the $150 bottle of French Bordeaux wine; or the $4,000 a night for a room at the Penninsula; or the $500 flask of Richard Hennessey; or the $40 fly squatter seems quite arty; or the $25,000 non-precious metal Rolex Daytona; or the $90 Dior leather mobile phone strap; or the $400 plain white Egyptian cotton Helmut Lang t-shirt; all of these now seem rather reasonable and above all, justifiable.
But here is the rub of anchoring. All of a sudden, the $30,000 Mercedes Benz is a bargain compared to the Mayback; or the $1000 black calf leather bag is cheap compared to the Hermes; or the $100 stainless steel Danish shoe horn; or the $700 cashmere coat compared to the LV mink; or the $70 main course at Rockpool compared to the degustation at Tetsuya’s; or the $6000 Cartier compared to the Rolex; or the $100 printed t-shirt considering how much the Helmut Lang costs. Anchoring does strange things to you.
However, while waiting for the barista to brew the coffee, I spotted a star sticker on Wallpaper magazine with its new low price. Flicking through the magazine, I came across an inconspicuous photo that left a profound impact with its effect tantamount to a tsunami’s on an anchor. After staring transfixed at the photo, I scanned for the price where I happed to spot the GBP symbol and followed the numbers from there. And followed I did until I finally located the decimal point and the magnitude of the figure struck me. GBP 2,334,200 which roughly translates to AUD $5,835,500 for a pair of "White gold drop earrings with diamonds and yellow oval diamonds" by Van Cleef and Arpels.
All of a sudden the standards for diamonds have risen to a new depth.
posted by tykang @ 7/07/2005 01:16:00 PM
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