December 2021 | Lab Grown Magazine

December 2021 | The Lab Grown Diamond Resource Book 28 To advertise call (888) 832-1109 | December 2021 29 Socially Speaking Try this test… Carefully watch the facial reactions and body language of any person giving a gift to some- one. First, they will typically hide the gift from view to gain payoff number one: the look of positive surprise triggering the giver’s self-reward. This is why we wrap gifts. Ever notice parents snapping pictures of their chil- dren with their new toy(s) only to post them everywhere then wait for approval likes and shares? Video is even better since it’s truer to that moment of personal reward. And it can be watched repeatedly. This, the good doc- tor said, is why social media is so popular. Every post is a form of giving, designed to hit the reward circuit as many times as possible without necessarily realizing it. The nucleus accumbens is extremely powerful, however, and can hurt as much as provide an ego-like dopamine rush. This same circuitry is responsible for everything pleasurable but can short-circuit at times, mixing un- pleasurable things with pleasurable things. It also works for and against such things as cigarettes, alcohol, drugs and even food. Overeating tied to depression is about trying to satisfy this little oval in our heads. The December Brain We process much more than our mind shares with us so that we don’t short-circuit. Yet, repeated visual and audio stimulus is still stored.The theory is we can’t safely defrag our brains, we can only absorb, store and filter, then retrieve what our mind has been trained to believe are the important items. That means every day, week and month, we get closer to the physical and mental need to reboot our brain. Here’s a holiday fact: The happiest people during the holiday season are those with the longest shopping list. The more they give (and are receipt of the reaction), the more cheerful they are. People who love to cook and serve big meals need their rewards button hit hard and hit often.They are the neediest among us. Many people reacting to a gift is a dopamine super spreader that literally lights up the nucleus accumbens on MRI scans. Blue Nile has 16 retail stores (showrooms) and is adding 50 more within 3 years, plus ex- perimenting with Top DMA mall anchor stores (Bloomingdale's/ Macys) for possible pop up stores by August 2022. It’s said that we need as much noise and sensory overload as possible every December 31. Why? It’s all about the mental reboot. We need a way to see colors (fireworks), hear (Auld Lang Syne and noise makers) and feel (the New Year’s kiss) to mark the end of the year and start anew. Have January blues? Your mind is trying to re- up your serotonin levels. No one to gift on Valen- tine’s Day? Anyone not giving a box of chocolates or flowers will treat themselves to something (clothing, jewelry) so that they may see themselves in the gift. Online Is Offline’s Best Friend Ask yourself: How many doors do you have? If you have one physical address and count that as your store, we must chat. Dismissing online is retail suicide. Want proof that an online business can’t live ex- clusively in digitally? Consider this: Amazon launched in 1994 as an online-only bookstore and, in 2015, opened their first physical bookstore. Now they operate 24 book- stores in major US markets and will soon be testing Amazon superstores . Best case-in-point is Blue Nile.The biggest online retailer of certified diamonds and fine jewelry once told investors “We keep moving like a river, we can never be in one static location; we live online only.” Vying for $1B in annual revenue, Blue Nile’s latest CEO, Shawn Kell, already has 16 stores (they call them showrooms) across the US, with 50 more in the works. The human brain requires a constant reward replay and touching items provides a bonus brain reward. Happy Holidays! Dan Scott is the founder and brand architect of Luxe Licensing, a New York/metro marketing firm. Dan enjoys brand and marketing discussions and welcomes conversation. He may be reached at dans@luxelicensing. com or LuxeLicensing.com . ◊ WE ARE YOUR PRIMARY SOURCE FOR ALL LAB GROWN DIAMONDS MATCHING PAIRS LAYOUTS PARCELS CALIBRATED SIZES CVD/HPHT MELEES CVD LOOSE AVAILABLE IN F-G COLOR SAME DAY SHIPPING SPECIAL WHOLESALE PRICES 0.005 to 5.00 CARATS We supply cer t i f ied and non- cer t i f ied pol ished diamonds , manuf ac tured in a wor ld- class f ac i l i t y, equipped wi th the mos t advanced technology. Member of Visit our website www.diamspark.com to see a full list of our inventory. Scan Barcode for Price List: 580 Fifth Avenue | Suite#1610 | New York, NY - 10036 Cell: +1 (732) 604 2222 | Phone: +1 (212) 221 4400 | Email: labgrown@diamspark.com