The words of luxury

The words to slip in every time

Copy has to be built into the marketing and adapted to the context of a high-end brand. Using certain words matters: exclusive, prestigious, elegant, high-end, Italian masterpiece, style, class, elegance. You must always manage to slip them in somewhere in your texts.

The inner reasoning is what leads people to buy a high-end product for social status. The explicit reasoning, on the other hand, is based on the quality of the product: appreciation of the craftsmanship. Descriptive product copy works, because it justifies the rational part of the purchase, which goes hand in hand with the non-rational part I have called envy, and which the person justifies precisely with the rational part.

Descriptive copy

You have to describe the product in a particular way, one that emphasises its quality to justify the rational part of the purchase: handcrafting, hand finishing, the 45-degree detail, the contrast stitching, the special paint finish, the special aluminium in the window frames, the fabric and composition of the suit, the ingredients of a cream. Every sector has its details. The customer uses them to explain, to themselves and to others, why they spent that amount.

Emotional copy

Emotional copy works too, but it is much harder to write and works at a higher level than descriptive copy. You have to keep the balance between stimulating latent demand and stimulating the person's emotional side, without overdoing it, so as not to risk the opposite effect.

Let me give you the example of the copy on our homepage, which is institutional copy, in the third person, and not an “I speaking to you” like this article. It starts with emotion:

Designed for an elegant and refined clientele, RiFRA kitchens and bathrooms are a true masterpiece of Italian design.

And then comes the product description: “Fine finishes, perfect craftsmanship. RiFRA kitchens are designed and manufactured in our modern factory in Milan, and furnish the most prestigious homes in the world.” We sold a beautiful kitchen in Des Moines, Iowa, with this copy. I went to visit the customer and he told me that this is what convinced him, these sentences.

Another customer, in Salt Lake City, was torn between us and a competitor. He chose us because of one sentence on the website: “for the most demanding customers in the world”. Then we had to redo half his kitchen, but the copy had worked. I tell this story because it proves that the right words, in the right place, close sales nine thousand kilometres away. And that the work doesn't end after the sale.

The bathrooms come after the kitchens: “RiFRA bathrooms perfectly complement the kitchen range. The same design, materials and craftsmanship, for a customer who accepts no compromise.” This sentence includes certain customers and excludes others. If the marketing does its job, the customer looking only at price doesn't come, because I have already disqualified them. Then the description continues: cabinets, washbasins, mirrors, taps, accessories, baths and shower trays.

Rolex and Rolls-Royce

Let's take Rolex as an example again. It uses exactly the terms I mentioned: “performance and prestige”. That is the emotional part, followed by the product description: precious raw materials, attention to detail, components designed, developed and produced in-house to the most rigorous standards.

And here we are at the very top: “A Rolex is always a precious object, but its value goes beyond the material: it is the memories and emotions it is associated with that make it priceless.” In the copy that follows it stirs the dream: “Whether a family heirloom, a symbol of success or a gift, a Rolex watch is often all the dearer to its owner for the exceptional moments it recalls.” You'll find this right on the homepage. And Rolex, with this copy and with production held at around a million pieces a year, has raised its price list every January for seven years.

Rolls-Royce is another excellent example, selling by talking about “an unforgettable odyssey” that celebrates the best of British and Italian luxury: five days in Northern Italy, from Venice to Lombardy, the finest craftsmanship, unprecedented luxury. It talks about what the car lets you experience.

Website in the third person, blog in the first

One last rule, which applies to all copy. The website should be written in the third person: it is the voice of the brand, institutional. The blog should be written in the first person: it is the voice of the entrepreneur, human, with a point of view. Unheard of among premium companies, and that is exactly why it works. The words of luxury are the same, on the website and on the blog.

From my book Direct from Milano and my classroom courses. Figures and examples updated to September 2026.