We’ve seen a number of solutions for getting a gold Apple Watch without spending the $10,000+ price Apple charges for the 18 Karat gold Apple Watch edition. We went hands-on with one of the first companies doing gold plating for Apple Watch, but that requires you to mail-in the device and pay approximately $400 on top of the Watch’s retail price (depending on the model).
Another option is this $100 DIY kit that offers an easy step by step solution for gold plating the Watch yourself with 24K gold…
The Midas Touch Kickstarter project, started by chemist Eric Knoll, offers a step-by-step kit for applying a 24K gold plating to your Apple Watch. The kit starts at just under $100, and goes up to $150 if you have a steel band to cover in addition to the watch casing itself. That’s much cheaper than sending it in to a company offering gold plating services for Apple Watchâ€" the stainless steel link band model, which sells for around $1000 from Apple, cost us an extra $400 to have it plated.
There are also other benefits to the DIY kit. You’ll be able to touch up the plating with the solution once it eventually begins to show signs of wear (inevitable for most gold-plated products). And if you eventually want to go back to the original stainless steel, you can easily do so using an abrasive polish, according to the company.
Here’s a video from the company showing off the process:
The kit is only for the stainless steel Apple Watch models so far, but the company said it’s developing a solution for the aluminum Sport models too.
You can pledge to the crowd funding campaign here to preorder the kit (the company has already reached its goal), and expect the kit to ship to backers worldwide this August.
Apple Watch “3rd party gold-plated edition†w/ link bracelet gets first unboxing and hands-on (Video)
Apple Watch launches on April 24th in 9 countries, preorders start on April 10th
Wow! #DIY 24K gold #AppleWatch kits for $100.