When does a diamond ring get too big?

The giant engagement rings celebrities sport reflect their larger-than-life status. But what's the point if the ring weighs them down?

- Sabine Benoit

Taylor Swift. Cristiano Ronaldo. Jeff Bezos.

If you follow the news, there’s been no escaping the breathless media coverage surrounding these celebrities’ recent engagement announcements (or wedding).

All the announcements were accompanied by pictures of massive diamond rings, which have been featured with varying levels of zoom-in on social media, prompting jewellery experts around the world to “guessimate” the size and price of the rings.

Happy couples are wonderful, but why are we so fixated on these rings, their size and their potential costs?

WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL?

For decades, scholars have researched the reasons why people are drawn to celebrities’ lives. A simple reason is: we find them entertaining. After all, they are part of the entertainment industry.

They embody glamour, happiness, success, beauty and luxury — and we expect them to lead a lifestyle that reflects this — bling watches, fancy clothing and fast cars.

Our fascination with their lives is their business and revenue model. And therefore, they have to carefully manage their image - or personal brand.

According to a framework by researchers from Taiwan’s Feng Chia University, internal and external motivations both shape a celebrity’s personal brand.

Internal motivations are the desire for self-presentation, self-disclosure, and showing one’s true self to others, while external motivations include financial and career opportunities, or achieving personal goals. External motivations might be in conflict with the internal ones.

Celebrities therefore have to balance authenticity — their true self and what they want - with living the “expected” lifestyle — of what others expect of them.

An engagement ring reflects this complexity.