Gold Apple Watch Could Cost as Much as $1,200, Jeweler Says [feedly]

----
Gold Apple Watch Could Cost as Much as $1,200, Jeweler Says
// MacLife

Apple stated at its Apple Watch reveal earlier this week that the device would start out at $349, but unsurprisingly, it's going to cost you a lot more than that if you want the high-end 18-karat gold "Edition" version. TechCrunch consulted Chad Rickicki, a Pittsburgh jeweler, and he produced an estimate on what you can expect to pay for the premium model, based on the watch's presumed size and weight.

Rickicki believes the device itself should cost Apple around $600, and he speculates that Apple may double that figure for retail. When it hits the shelves, then, the final product could end up costing around $1,200.

That's a big leap up from the somewhat agreeable pricing of the sport models, and the reasoning is simple — gold is expensive. Complicating the matter further, we still don't have any exact dimensions for the device; estimates like those of Rickicki's are based on Apple's publicity photos and footage of Kevin Lynch walking around with the device on Tuesday's stage. And if the device is merely gold-plated? It could end up costing much less.

Or it could be more, especially if the body's made from solid gold. Apple itself states that the gold on the Apple Watch Edition is designed to be "twice as hard as standard gold." The device also sports the sapphire crystal display we heard so much about in the months leading up to the launch of both the Apple Watch and the iPhone 6, and even the fancy box for the premium watch doubles as a charger.

The Apple Watch is expected to launch sometime in early 2015.

Follow this article's writer, Leif Johnson, on Twitter.

----

Shared via my feedly reader

Sent from my iPhone