Apple watch for $22,000, but comes with free shipping!

[poohbear]

Is this for real? Apple's highest model smart watch is going for $22,000, i mean wtf?

http://store.apple.com/ca/buy-watch/apple-watch-edition?product=MJ3G2VC/A&step=detail#

i was trying to see what it does exactly to warrant such a price, but nothing special at all. hmmmmm, either a car or an apple watch. the free shipping when u click on it is just icing on the cake i guess.

 

[Kaido]

Luxury only makes sense if you're rich & bored. Or dreaming of being rich & bored

 

[Anubis]

Is this for real? Apple's highest model smart watch is going for $22,000, i mean wtf?

http://store.apple.com/ca/buy-watch/apple-watch-edition?product=MJ3G2VC/A&step=detail#

i was trying to see what it does exactly to warrant such a price, but nothing special at all. hmmmmm, either a car or an apple watch. the free shipping when u click on it is just icing on the cake i guess.

you can make that same argument for any other expensive watch (rolex, omega,...)

they are status symbols/accessories

the fact that they tell time is unimportant

 

[Commodus]

For the Americans: that's the Canadian pricing (not that it's suddenly affordable otherwise).

And welcome to the wonderful world of luxury products, where the choice of material adds a lot to the cost. I don't blame Apple for charging that much for a solid gold smartwatch --- I just question the wisdom of anyone who drops five digits on a device that will likely be obsolete in a few years.

 

[gorcorps]

For the Americans: that's the Canadian pricing (not that it's suddenly affordable otherwise).

And welcome to the wonderful world of luxury products, where the choice of material adds a lot to the cost. I don't blame Apple for charging that much for a solid gold smartwatch --- I just question the wisdom of anyone who drops five digits on a device that will likely be obsolete in a few years.

That and... gold is pretty soft. Won't that thing be scratched to shit in a short time?

 

[Sooon]

That and... gold is pretty soft. Won't that thing be scratched to shit in a short time?

It's harder than normal gold.

In June 2014, Apple filed a patent, issued in December 2014, for a “Method and apparatus for forming a gold metal matrix composite.” Metal matrix composites allow manufacturers to develop complex metal components in a similar way to 3D printing with polymers, and from the looks of this patent, Apple may be using this approach for the Apple Watch's case.

The patent describes a composite that’s part gold, part ceramic, and of note is the fact that the final product is supposed to be between two and four times harder than normal 18 ct gold. One of the claims cites the finished metal matrix composite as having a hardness of at least 400 Hv on the Vickers scale, whereas 18 ct gold usually ranges between 85 and 230 Hv.

 

[thilanliyan]

^So there's actually less gold than if it was pure gold...

 

[Kaido]

^So there's actually less gold than if it was pure gold...

Yeah but that's the case with anything, pure gold is too soft to use:

http://www.zales.com/jewelry101/index.jsp?page=preciousMetals

Gold is the most easily worked of all metals and ranges in softness based on its purity. Generally pure gold is too soft for use in jewelry, so it's commonly mixed with alloy metals such as copper and zinc. Below is a breakdown of the percentage of pure gold in each of the popular karat weights:

24 Karat: 99.9% Pure
22 Karat: 91.7% Pure
18 Karat: 75% Pure
14 Karat: 58.3% Pure
12 Karat: 50% Pure
10 Karat: 41.7% Pure

When selecting jewelry like gold necklaces or bracelets, it's important to balance gold purity with the durability. Jewelry items like rings and bracelets often take more abuse and are much likely to become deformed if softer gold is used; as a result, 18 Kt or 14 Kt Gold may be a better selection for those types of items. In addition, there are a number of other forms of gold that must be considered when shopping for jewelry.

From Apple's website:

https://www.apple.com/watch/apple-watch-edition/

Each has a watch case crafted from 18-karat gold that our metallurgists have developed to be up to twice as hard as standard gold. The display is protected by polished sapphire crystal.

So you're getting a 75% pure gold watch, but it has twice the hardness of regular gold. Pretty good tradeoff I think. If you're into that

 

[Lyfer]

Even as an Apple Fan. Those prices are fcking ridiculous.

 

[senseamp]

There is less gold in it than normal 18K gold, because they use a low density ceramic filler, which allows them to label it as 18K gold while using less gold than they would with a normal metal filler. Not that it matters, since an oz of gold is $1200. So even if half the case weight was pure gold, it would only be $1500 of the $18K price.

 

[GrumpyMan]

Well no wonder it costs so much, it comes with a modern buckle. The model with the old fashioned buckle costs $1.99.

 

[Crono]

It doesn't matter what Apple charges for the highest model, so long as they have a model that is more in line with their traditional pricing. Not very different from what car companies or fashion brands do. Yes, they are a technology company, but they are about premium design, and it's not at all surprising that a wearable (part-luxury fashion) product from them could be extremely expensive.

They really don't need to sell a lot of the $22k ones. But because they know there are wealthy individuals who are already spending that kind of cash for image alone, it makes perfect sense to have a model in that price range available.

BMW, Mercedes, and Audi don't expect everyone looking to buy a car from them will buy a supercar, either. And yes, I know that analogy isn't perfect because there are actual functional differences between models of those makes, but this is a hybrid category we are talking about. The wearable technology segment is still nascent at this point, and some items clearly will fall toward the fashion side of the spectrum, and others to the pure utility side - much like traditional analog/digital watches.

 

[touchstone]

You guys don't get it, if you are looking at the price at all this watch is not meant for you. It's actually not even meant for Rolex or Omega buyers, because many of those people are just losers with decent jobs who have nothing better to do than collect watches and spend money on nothing else. This is way more exclusive than that.



This is for the person who can afford to spend $22,000 on a Watch that has no resale value or unknown resale value. They have to be able to spend that kind of money and not worry about losing it too.


I see zero reason to be upset about a 22,000 apple watch when there are hundreds of other watches that do absolutely nothing functionally more than my microwave and cost thousands more. Unless you are just upset about watch prices, which makes sense because the only reason Apple can charge these ridiculous prices is because Rolex has made the market used to paying ridiculous prices for nothing.

 

[Zaap]

Yeah, its for Saudi Oil Sheiks and the like; people with tons of money, near zero taste and for whom dropping 22k on a watch doesn't even merit an eyeblink.

Apple is smart to make products directly for that crowd; custom jewelers have been making bank off of it for years (gold plated iPhones and such). With this, Apple's just cutting themselves in on it, as they should.

 

[Red Storm]

Good for Apple, they've got a product with fantastic margins to sell to rich idiots.

 

[JohnAlmighty]

It should come with an iPhone as an extra.

 

[Kaido]

This is for the person who can afford to spend $22,000 on a Watch that has no resale value or unknown resale value. They have to be able to spend that kind of money and not worry about losing it too.

Hah, excellent insight :thumbsup:

 

[Exophase]

I remember seeing a lot of guesses for what the price would be and as far as I remember, not one over $5000. Guess Apple made everyone look kind of silly.

And I doubt they'll make more money with this price than they would have were it sold for a more reasonable margin than something like 20-30x. But maybe that's not really the point, and this is just more advertising to get people to talk about Apple Watch by virtue of having such a ridiculous price for the gold model.

 

[openwheel]

People either get the mechanical watch, or they don't. There is a reason Rolex is such a aspirational purchase for both old and young. Unfortunately some young people only care about apps though....

When I was younger, I refused to wear a watch. I thought it was cumbersome and redundant when the time was everywhere I look. I also thought Rolex were for old farts and over-rated. How foolish I was.....

A smart watch on the other hand....shouldn't cost anywhere near $1000. Putting precious metal on fast depreciating tech is a big waste of precious metal.

 

[openwheel]

You guys don't get it, if you are looking at the price at all this watch is not meant for you. It's actually not even meant for Rolex or Omega buyers, because many of those people are just losers with decent jobs who have nothing better to do than collect watches and spend money on nothing else. This is way more exclusive than that.



This is for the person who can afford to spend $22,000 on a Watch that has no resale value or unknown resale value. They have to be able to spend that kind of money and not worry about losing it too.


I see zero reason to be upset about a 22,000 apple watch when there are hundreds of other watches that do absolutely nothing functionally more than my microwave and cost thousands more. Unless you are just upset about watch prices, which makes sense because the only reason Apple can charge these ridiculous prices is because Rolex has made the market used to paying ridiculous prices for nothing.

Sounds like you are worse than the losers with decent jobs that can afford a decent watch :thumbsdown:

A typical "sore loser". :biggrin:

 

[Commodus]

People either get the mechanical watch, or they don't. There is a reason Rolex is such a aspirational purchase for both old and young. Unfortunately some young people only care about apps though....

When I was younger, I refused to wear a watch. I thought it was cumbersome and redundant when the time was everywhere I look. I also thought Rolex were for old farts and over-rated. How foolish I was.....

A smart watch on the other hand....shouldn't cost anywhere near $1000. Putting precious metal on fast depreciating tech is a big waste of precious metal.

Well, that's why the Watch Sport exists. If you don't like the idea of splurging on a watch that could feel outdated in a couple of years, you can drop $350. Still not cheap, but a lot easier to swallow.

 

[Subyman]

Heck with the "status" or "luxury" element, it's not even that functional yet.

 

[Exophase]

Anyone else think calling it "Apple Watch Edition" is really stupid? It sounds like it's the Watch edition of something but actually it's the Edition edition of the watch. Yeah, what?

 

[touchstone]

Yeah, those losers.

I don't mean they are losers for having decent jobs. I mean specifically that there is a certain type of loser with a decent job who still spends tens of thousands on a watch. Poor wording on my part.




Zap had a good point in saying that Apple is cutting themselves in on the 'custom' iphone crap, I think that might be a big part of their rationale for introducing such a model. I doubt they care if they sell 10 or 1000, it is a halo product.

 

[cbrunny]

I wonder how much is actual profit for Apple on the $22,000 version.