Apple’s new 18k gold watch may wipe out your bank account

Apple’s new 18k gold watch may wipe out your bank account

Rumour has it this model will sport a $5K designer price tag.

If you were thinking about getting the newest and highest-end version of the Apple Watch, the one that comes in 18K gold, you better think it twice. According to a new rumour spread out by French site iGeneration, that model will run between $4,000 and $5,000.

Yes, you read that right. Just to put that figure in perspective, let’s just say that the most expensive computer Apple currently offers is the Mac Pro, which starts at $2,999. Or think about how you could pay for a full college degree program with that sum.

Apple’s new 18k gold watch may wipe out your bank account

The model comes with an 18-karat gold case, designed to be “twice as hard as standard gold.” It also utilizes a sapphire crystal display, and can be outfitted with either a leather or sport wristband.

Of course the authenticity of such price it is still unknown (though iGen have had some hits in the past – including reporting the exact dimensions of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus).

According to iGeneration the model comes with an 18-karat gold case, designed to be “twice as hard as standard gold.” It also utilizes a sapphire crystal display, and can be outfitted with either a leather or sport wristband.

Apple’s new 18k gold watch may wipe out your bank account

Apple says its new S1 chip, which will go into the Apple Watch, is more or less an entire system inside a single insulated enclosure.

Long-time Apple watcher John Gruber predicted prices like this back in September, noting that Apple was finally moving away from its long tradition of “accessible luxury” where – to quote Andy Warhol – the “richest consumers buy essentially the same things as the poorest.”

The less luxurious (but still suave) Apple Watch packs a stainless steel case that comes in black and silver, with the option for either a leather band or one of several steel bracelets.

Apple’s new 18k gold watch may wipe out your bank account

This gold Apple Watch could cost as much as 10 iPads.

The sport version, rumoured to be the most affordable of the bunch, has an anodized aluminum case and uses plastic wristbands.

They are supposed to be available early next year, around Valentine’s Day.

Images from AppleKeynotes, via YouTube.

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