World Of Gems Conference 2017 Proceedings Book

WORLD OF GEMS CONFERENCE V - 51 - SEPTEMBER 2017 PURPOSE W hy do some people love anything shiny, like dia- monds and cars, while others prefer matt sur- faces? The objective of this research was to study the relation between the retinal mosaic, polarotactic behavior, and gem preferences. Business applications include being able to deliver the right sensory mix for each group of indi- viduals in terms of gem, design, shank, and experience. METHOD The experimental group comprised of 200 men and women aged 25-45 years. Subjects reported their preferences for shiny and matt surfaces and their answers were classified by type of light (unpolarized, linearly polarized, circularly polar- ized). The subjects were classified based on their polarotactic behavior (super-polarotactic, medium-polarotactic, non-po- larotactic), and the retinal mosaic of a representative sample was captured with the help of in-vivo retinal imaging. RESULTS Depending on their polarotactic behavior, people tended to showcase predictable visual use cases and gem preferences. Individuals attracted to shiny surfaces and polarized light pre- sented a more regular retinal mosaic with fewer hyperreflec- tive patches. The retinal mosaic pattern and especially the photoreceptors’ direction could act as predictors of an individ- ual’s polarotactic behavior and gem preferences. Further re- search could investigate the link between polarotacticity and the perception of gem impurities and man-made diamonds. u REFERENCE: Derval D. (2017, in print). Designing Luxury Brands:The Science of Appealing to Customers’ Senses. Heidelberg: Springer POLAROTACTIC PROFILES AND GEM PREFERENCES Diana Derval POLAROTACTIC PROFILES POSTER ABSTRACT