IntroductionDuring 2014-2015, Indonesia experienced the fever of arkenstone. This emerging fondness of arkenstone, or agate, ("batuk akik" in Indonesian) among people is indicated by a growing population of stone hunters, stone smiths and mostly, people who accessorize their fingers with colorful arkenstone on rings. This trend hits Indonesian like a tidal wave, as it affects not only ordinary citizens but also government officials; from Minister of Manpower, Hanif Dhakiri-who collects arkenstones and view them as part of national culture [1] to Minister of Social Affairs, Khofifah Indar Parawansa who stated arkenstone craftsmen/stone smiths as one of the new occupation in East Java and considered it to be effective in reducing the number of divorce in the area [2]. The arkenstone itself, known as 'agate' in geological terms, is a mineral structure consisting of various components of hard and colorful silicon layers [3]. As the popularity of the mineral among people raised so is the price. Depending on various aspects such as size, pattern, color, texture and origins, the price may vary from a few hundred thousand to millions of rupiah.However, there are yet any studies conducted to investigate the cause of this 'fever'. All we know from the news, articles and the increasing number of arkenstone trader is that people buy, collect and admire them for many purposes. This sudden trend has also left us puzzled, as this is similar to the flowerhorn fish trend back in the early 2000s where many people started to breed them for good luck and prosperity. This is the first article, to our knowledge, to ever investigate the psychosocial aspects underlying the arkenstone trends among Indonesian by outlining a few possible social-psychological factors that might have caused the trend. We propose that individual's Aesthetic Style, Health Beliefs, Illusory Belief, and Connectedness to Nature play roles in determining the favoring of arkenstone.
Aesthetic StyleOne possible reason for attraction towards arkenstone might be its aesthetic value. Its beautiful pattern and design are the qualities that attract people into collecting, hunting and taking care of the arkenstone as collections and accessories. How people perceive a product to be aesthetically beautiful might influence their attitude on the product. As Chen put it in his analysis of web design, aesthetic can influence brand perception and credibility in purchasing decision [4]. According to Louis Kattsoff [5], aesthetic is the knowledge of the beauty and the art of beauty. As John Hospers stated, it is related with the contemplation of art, by analyzing concepts in the deep reflection [5]. This contemplation makes people understand and perceive better towards the art, opening the opportunity to admire and appreciate it as a unique product and thus making the art a valuable possession of luxury.Godey et al. [6] suggested that the consumption of a product or brand depends on the aesthetic perception or 'style' of the customer. Thus the value and luxury perceived may vary ...