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Apple: Results: 80% expect the 18-karat gold Apple Watch Edition to cost under $4500, but will it?

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Monday, May 4, 2015
Results: 80% expect the 18-karat gold Apple Watch Edition to cost under $4500, but will it?

Apple-Watch-gold-render-01
In a poll of 9to5Mac readers, nearly 80% of people think Apple’s 18-karat gold Apple Watch Edition will cost under $4500. Only 16% expect the gold Apple Watch Edition to cost between $5000-$10,000, and 3.8% expect a price tag over $10,000. The biggest group at 29.68% expect the gold model to cost between $1500-$2500. But how much will the gold Apple Watch really cost?
Apple-watch-gold-survey-01
It depends on how much gold, in terms of weight, is actually in the Apple Watch. Apple itself described the model as solid 18-karat gold, but we still don’t know for sure.
We have at least an estimate, however, with Greg Koenig (via Forbes) creating a 3D render of the Apple Watch (above) and estimating around 29.16g, or approximately $1200, worth of gold. Factor in everything else included in manufacturing the watch and Apple’s usual markup and Koenig thinks the watch won’t come in below $5000. Compare that with the hint of a price point close to the entry-level $4000 Mac Pro from the WSJ in recent weeks.
We’ll have to wait to know for sure how Apple decides to price the device (like an iPhone + gold or like a traditional, high-end timepiece), but it appears most consumers are expecting (or at least hoping) for the former. 
Our poll included nearly 10,000 votes.
Apple Watch straps will be available to purchase separately at launch
Apple Watch straps will be available to purchase separately at launch
Opinion: If any Apple Watch will cost thousands of dollars, Apple needs to start telling that story
Opinion: If any Apple Watch will cost thousands of dollars, Apple needs to start telling that story

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33 Responses to “Results: 80% expect the 18-karat gold Apple Watch Edition to cost under $4500, but will it?”

  1. RP says: I tend to agree that the gold one is the one to get if you are into wearing jewelry. And I think advertising with women as a demographic makes perfect sense. No to be sexist, but wen like wearing bling at tad more than men, and men are a tad more likely to buy it for women as a gift.
    So when you add it all up; a high end brand name, 18k solid gold, useful, cool factor, likely to retain its value as jewelry.
    That’s the one that I would want, …gifted to me.
    Like
  2. jrox16 says: I think to help move the gold models, Apple should create a gold price based trade in program giving customers a decent amount back for the value of the gold when they trade up to the Watch 2 and 3, 4, 5, 6, etc…. We all know how this is going to roll.
    Gold is easily recyclable and Apple’s goal shouldn’t be to make tons of money off just selling gold, but should continue to be profits from the watch itself. The gold can be looked at as a separate commodity for trade.
    Like
  3. Pierre Calixte says: if Apple wants to sell as many as it can, they will price it at $1999. to me that’s the sweet spot. Apple products tend to have a 2 to 1, profit to cost ratio. If they build the Apple watch with about $800 worth of gold and add $200 of electronics, you have a watch that costs about $1000 to build and can sell for $2000.
    Like
    • Pierre Calixte says: thinking about this further…where Apple will hose everybody is with the straps. people will want multiple straps for different occasions and the markup on those will be tremendous. it actually makes sense for Apple to make the watch as cheap as they can and kill people on the straps.
      Like
    • Bruno Fernandes (@Linkb8) says: There’s no sweet spot when it comes to losing money.
      Like
    • charilaosmulder says: The electronics probably cost less than $200 and the gold more than $800
      Like
    • freediverx says: If they priced it that low, they still wouldn’t sell it to people like me, who consider gold watches to be rather gaudy, and they’d completely lose the high end market who would only be interested if the watch were exclusive (the more expensive, the better.)
      Like
    • jedimindtrick99 says: It’s not pure gold, it’s chemically modified, wouldn’t that devalue the gold
      Like
      • kpom1 says: No. Most gold jewelry is 18kt or even 14kt. 24kt gold is too soft for wearables.
        Like
  4. Maxim Wang (@MaximW97) says: The question is, who would spend that much money on a watch that gets updated every year? I won’t.
    Liked by 1 person
    • Pierre Calixte says: that’s a good question. I don’t think Apple will put the watch on the same hardware update cycle as the rest of it’s products. every 3 to 5 years would be best.
      Like
    • Greg Kaplan (@kaplag) says: Rich people who aren’t tech savvy and like to have the best… They will just purchase a new one next year without batting an eye.
      The luxury fashion world is filled with super expensive things that go out of style in a year. I’m sure people buy dresses for that much that they only wear once.
      That’s why I agree with Gruber that these things could be so much more expensive than tech blog people can even imagine.
      Like
    • freediverx says: “Who would spend that much money on a watch that gets updated every year?”
      People with more money than taste.
      Like
  5. chasim79 says: wah its great
    Like
  6. Bruno Fernandes (@Linkb8) says: Anyone who thinks this watch will cost anywhere close to $2000 is dreaming. Look at the stat above for clarity. 30g of solid 18k gold. $1200 by 9to5’s account (it’s actually higher right now). That’s just the price of the raw material, never mind doing anything with it. So let’s say the case costs $1500. If Apple were to sell that case, empty with nothing else in it, it would already cost at least 40% additional â€" before packaging.
    Sorry, this thing is going to be a lot closer to $4000 than $2000. And likely even closer to $5000. $4999 is still my guess.
    Like
    • Bruno Fernandes (@Linkb8) says: Take a look at this link, where the author reports that even 3 oz of gold would be very little to produce the Apple Watch (and that’s 3x the amount quoted in this story):
      He believes the price will be $10k â€" but what does he know right? He’s just a watch expert.
      http://grail-watch.com/2015/02/16/gold-apple-watch-edition-must-cost-10000/
      Like
    • chrisl84 says: I believe that 30g gold weight does not include the crown or the gold in the watch band. So the weight is likely even higher.
      Like
    • jedimindtrick99 says: It’s chemically modified gold, wouldn’t it devalue the gold, say making it cheaper but more scratch resistant and retains pure gold appearance
      Like
    • Ryan Pesso says: I agree with 4999, that was my guess from the beginning. Safes for storage indicate that it will be the highest priced apple product ever, therefore assumptions can be made that it will cost 4000, since that is currently the highest priced apple product. $4,999 aligns with apples iPhone profit margins… Since in 2011 is cost about $130 to produce one iPhone which sold for an average of about 34 /times production cost. Hence, if the watch costs $1200 apple logically could sell it for 3/4 times the production cost selling for about 5k.
      Like
  7. dam1999sam says: I don’t care how much it cost…I do care how Apple developed those custom alloys they announced re the watch though. All in-house? with 3rd party like LQMT? Any patents filed? What did they say…their custom alloys are 50% harder / more scratch resistant?
    Like
  8. sammy90483 says: The gold one was so clearly tailor made for the Asia/China market. It won’t matter how much this costs. People lose their collective s#%* for gold anything there.
    Like
  9. Scott Sterling (@sjsterling) says: If the aluminum watch sells for $349 then surely Apple has well under $200 in costs.
    If you allow $0 for the aluminum case and add $1200 for gold, you have total costs of $1400.
    If the watch sells for $2999, Apple has a margin of 53%.
    Sell for $4999 and Apple’s margin is 72%.
    Anything above would just be because it’s a luxury item.
    Like
    • dailycardoodle says: Plus sapphire, plus posh strap. But yeah, should be $2,500 or less for gold edition.
      Like
  10. dailycardoodle says: let’s do the (very rough) maths…
    Sport â€" Aluminium $25 â€" Glass $20 â€" Strap $5 â€" All tech $100 = $150
    = SELLS FOR $350 (+$200 for RD, marketing and profit)
    Watch â€" Stainless $35 â€" Sapphire $85 â€" Strap $5 â€" All tech $100 = $225
    = SELLS FOR $450 ($500 for leather strap version) (+$225 for RD, marketing and profit)
    Edition â€" Gold $1,200 â€" Sapphire $85 â€" Strap $50 â€" All tech $100 = $1,435
    = SELLS FOR $2,000 (+$565!!! for RD, marketing and profit)
    All very rough but even if the gold is $1200, the other stuff doesn’t go up â€" even with a much bigger profit, it should be less than $2000. If the alloy is cheaper and they trimmed the profits it could be $1,500! They won’t do that though!
    I recon $350 â€" $450-$500 â€" $1,999-$2,200
    Like
    • Tim LeVier says: I think the value of a traditional mechanical watch is that it can be repaired, batteries replaced, and it will run for centuries. I wonder how one markets the Edition at a premium price recognizing that technology ages rather quickly. If not 1 year, then in 5 years it certainly will be antiquated. Can the electronic tech inside be upgraded without having to replace the gold parts? I doubt it. I think it’s easy for skeptics to see how this could be a folly, and we’re not hearing a lot of “counter-points”. I guess we’ll have to wait for an official Apple Watch release event to hear about the details.
      Like
  11. Toni Vikstedt (@vviksu) says: Large number of people would have voted for $4500-$5000 but there were no option to vote for that.
    Like
  12. Greg Danowski says: A watch is a very personal thing, You will keep your watch with all of your bands, When it comes time to up upgrade every 12-18 months you will go to the apple store where it will take them only about 1 min to loosen the back and remove the module which contains the processor, battery and censors and replace it with the newest and greatest.
    Like
  13. jayoxley6548 says: but is it pure 18k gold? because at the keynote apple said the gold edition was chemically modified to make it more durable.
    Like
    • kpom1 says: 18kt gold is 75% gold. Most gold jewelry is 18kt or less (22kt is rare) since pure gold (24kt) is very soft and bends easily.
      Like
  14. kpom1 says: It’s at least $5k and maybe $10k. I think John Gruber is wrong when he suggests $20k since there is no link band option, and if the Journal is right and Apple is producing 1 million of them it would be too much revenue to bury in the “accessories” segment along with AppleTV and what’s left of the iPod business.
    Like
  15. kpom1 says: I also don’t think the 38mm will be any cheaper than the 42mm in the gold version. That’s not how fashion works. The only overlap is the rose gold with sport band, so we’ll see if Apple builds in a price differential. But in general the designs that appeal to women are the 38mm and the designs that appeal to men are 42mm. Look at clothing. Women’s clothing is often easier to make than men’s (less, often lower quality material, simpler designs, fewer pockets, etc.) but is priced higher in stores. It’s the same with jewelry.
    Like

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