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Jewelers start gold plating Apple Watch to undercut Apple’s pricey Edition models

It’s no secret that the price of the Apple Watch rapidly increases if you want a gold model. The Apple Watch Edition with an 18 karat rose gold case starts at $10,000 and ranges to $17,000 for yellow gold models with a gold-plated band. Jewelers, however, looking to take some of Apple’s high-end Watch market, have now started offering their own take on the gold Apple Watch…

First, Watch Plate offers to gold plate your own Apple Watch for $399. The process is relatively simple. You simply FedEx them your stainless steel Apple Watch and they will gold plate the device and ship it back to you, all within 3 business days. Watch Plate will even email you a FedEx label to make the shipment process as simple as possible. The company says it is using 24 karat rose gold or 24 karat yellow gold during its process.

Golden Dreams takes a different approach to offering gold Apple Watch units. For $3,550, the company will soon offer gold-plated Apple Watch models in 24 karat yellow gold, 18 karat rose gold, and 18 karat white gold models. These watches are all custom-made in Geneva and ship worldwide. The company also touts that their gold-plated Apple Watch ships in a high-end luxury box. Alongside the Watch itself, Golden Dreams will also offer over 160 different colored Alligator leather straps. Hand engraving will also be available, according to the company.

The difference between the two is that with Watch Plate’s offering, you must supply your own Apple Watch unit, while Golden Dreams handles the entire acquisition process and ships gold-plated Apple Watch units directly to consumers. The latter makes for a more seamless, albeit more expensive, process. Golden Dreams also touts that its straps are of the same quality of a Rolex and other high-end watch manufacturers.

Last month, we also showed how you could easily turn an Apple Watch Sport into an Apple Watch Edition with a can of spray paint. Of course with that method, you’re only coating the device in paint, not actually plating it in gold like the offerings from Gold Dreams and Watch Plate. It’s the appearance that matters, though, right?

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Comments

  1. ilmondoinbellezza - 9 years ago

    historic clock

  2. It actually looks pretty good! $400 is not a bad price to pay for 24K plating. I wonder how long it will last before the stainless steel starts shining through.

  3. unitedappleconvo - 9 years ago

    One thing they can’t fake is the words in back of the case “stainless steel”

    • shapenoid - 9 years ago

      Actually we can remove it if we want to, and write something else but that would be cheating :)

    • Bryant Rydberg - 9 years ago

      If a girl asks me to do that then I know what kind of girl I am dealing with…lol.

    • First of all who is ever going to read THAT when you are wearing the watch ? The problem only comes up if you seduce someone with that watch and are afraid she will see it after you have hit “HOME RUN”. But then you need not take it off at all !!!

      Finally you already know what you have done. Only problem I can see is if you are trying to gift it !!!!

  4. rogifan - 9 years ago

    Why would somebody want a goldplated watch? Everybody’s going to know it’s not the real thing. And it voids the warranty. So stupid.

    • Don Horne (@DonHorne) - 9 years ago

      The same reason why people for decades have bought gold plated watches instead of a rolex and other brands. They prefer the look of gold as an accessory or personal taste but don’t have the need or disposable income to have a solid gold watch.

    • Ryan Flynn - 9 years ago

      How would anyone know its not real?

    • daitenshe - 9 years ago

      Why would someone who doesn’t follow tech news sites like this know that gold plating the apple watch is even a thing?

    • jameskatt - 9 years ago

      Because everyone loves having fake Louie Vuitton or Prada or Burberry handbag that you can buy off the streets of New York or Italy.

  5. mobileseeks - 9 years ago

    This is why Apple should have some up with a slightly different form for the gold watch so that posers could be more easily exposed.

    • houstonche - 9 years ago

      Posers? It’s gold plating.

    • Gazoo Bee - 9 years ago

      I think we are seeing the reasoning behind the abnormally deeply cut description on the back which says “stainless steel” and serves the same purpose as a different shape would. It would be both costly and difficult to fill that in and damn near impossible to carve a new one that implied it was the gold edition.

      Besides which, anyone who cares about gold watches at all would be able to tell the difference just by looking. The pictures of it certainly look different from the Apple Edition watch even to the untrained eye.

      • J.Johnson - 9 years ago

        How would one tell the difference “by just looking at it” when I have yet to see a “real” one to make a comparison with. Surely you can’t base your opinion off of pictures on the internet right?

  6. msmithj567 - 9 years ago

    Reblogged this on Mohit – The caretaker.

  7. James Logan (@jamloga) - 9 years ago

    Never wanted a gold watch, personally always thought they were tacky! Stainless steal or something in that tone always look nice.

  8. Raymond Hietapakka - 9 years ago

    24-karat gold, 100% Au is the only one that is ever used for plating. Alloys won’t plate onto another surface. You’re maybe getting $4 worth of gold for you $400 outlay. Pure Gold is extremely soft, so it will wear off in record time. Just get it stripped and re-plated every two years. Go ahead. You can afford it. It’s all about Steve’s memory. C’mon, what’s wrong with you? Get out that wallet. Put it on your VISA. Wise investment.

  9. Marklewood at Serenity Lodge - 9 years ago

    I wonder, what happens to all these high end watches when Apple upgrades? I can’t imagine spending anything for the current watch when it’s essentially a test product.

  10. Ian Knight - 9 years ago

    Why would anyone want an Apple Watch anyway? I can tell the time from my 10 year old analogue $150 watch. My IT/tablet needs are well fulfilled by my Galaxy S6/ASUS Desktop/Dell Laptop – and I’m not stupid enough to wait in line at my local (London – 70 miles from home) Apple store from 4am to purchase an overpriced I-Phone 7 and a half (or whatever the latest piece of ‘cutting edge’ technology is called) which will be available from Amazon in 2 days time, when something half the price does everything I need – and I don’t have to go via i-Tunes just to switch it on!

    • “I can tell the time from my 10 year old analogue $150 watch”
      – Thats fine, this is just another product, there are watches that are $30 – $100K but you don’t have to get them.

      “and I’m not stupid enough to wait in line at my local (London – 70 miles from home) Apple store from 4am”
      – Then order it online

      “overpriced I-Phone 7 and a half (or whatever the latest piece of ‘cutting edge’ technology is called) which will be available from Amazon in 2 days time,”
      – Its not available on Amazon but there are plenty of Android watches available.

      “when something half the price does everything I need –”
      – 1/2 priced watch, try a Pebble, there less than $100. It was okay kinda crapy though and stopped working after a few months. A color one is coming out in a year.

      “and I don’t have to go via i-Tunes just to switch it on!”
      – iOS products haven’t needed iTunes for at least the last 3 years. You can run it all without ever connecting it to a computer ever.

  11. Ciro Wong - 9 years ago

    Doesn’t mean its not real or not means your paying for the watch to be plated. $400 is real money. Plating the watch with real gold. Calm down people.

  12. cmc (@dparker2047) - 9 years ago

    if they can modify it so the battery lasts longer than a day then i might be interested in buying it

    • cjt3007 - 9 years ago

      My battery thus far has lasted longer than a day… I don’t know of many people that sleep with a watch on though. Most people take off their watches and bracelets before bed – so why does it matter if it only lasts a day?

  13. Yakov Fain - 9 years ago

    The one million dollar question is, “Who are you cheating?”

  14. absarokasheriff - 9 years ago

    I am getting the Black Stainless watch. I would like to see a Black Chrome or Brushed Black Chrome plating for the Milanese loop. The gold plate of the Milanese loop looks interesting and they seemed to have not been challenged by the intricate design. And the magnetic properties must still be valid after plating because that was not mentioned.

  15. Apple is going to sue them.

    • KaosuM (@kaosum) - 9 years ago

      Apple cant do squat in this situation. The Jewelers are not making forgeries, are not stealing IP, all they are doing is taking the metal casing and gold plating it themselves. Apple does not own the patent for gold plating. Electroplating has been around for over 100 years.

      This would be akin to Apple suing case modders. Only thing Apple can do is say this is a modded product, therefore your warranty is void, while stomping their feet in the sand and crying because the end user has a way to achieve the same look at a cheaper rate.

  16. I inherited a solid gold IWC watch, and the first thing I did was exchange the strap for black leather. Gold is simply not a good look unless you’re black / very dark-skinned. On white/pinkish skin, it just looks garish.

  17. John West - 9 years ago

    WatchPlate.com will gold plate the Milanese Loop band alone for $199. That, attached to my space grey Apple Sport Watch, will look stunning! What’s more, the warranty on my watch is not in danger. It’s another way to go for a nice high fashion look at minimal expense.

  18. ibuildhope - 9 years ago

    I saw one on Etsy for $299 for the service

    https://www.etsy.com/listing/235319886/gold-plating-service-for-apple-watch

Author

Avatar for Chance Miller Chance Miller

Chance is an editor for the entire 9to5 network and covers the latest Apple news for 9to5Mac.

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