14 DAY TRIAL // John Gruber of Daring Fireball has been quite vocal as of late. In a recent post on his blog, he offers a take on the Apple Watch pricing scheme claiming that he wouldn’t be surprised to see the gold model priced at $20,000 (€17,500).
His forecast is based on Apple’s usual premium tiers, but also an omission on behalf of the tech blogosphere (including himself): the bands.
Apple Watch Edition to “start” at $10,000
Something that many have opined before, the Edition model - made from the world’s finest 18 karat gold - is likely to be priced at $10,000 (€8,788).
The reasoning is that premium watch makers like Rolex charge tens of thousands for only a couple of thousands worth of gold in their watches. It’s not the gold you pay for, it’s the watch as a whole.
A second reason why the smartwatch could run in the tens of thousands is the bracelet. Edition models come with special bands, some of which also have gold in them. The manufacturing is probably a costly process in and of itself, but there’s also the extra material, which gives Apple all the more reason to charge extra.
“I now think Edition models will start around $10,000 — and, if my hunch is right about bands and bracelets, the upper range could go to $20,000,” writes Gruber in his extensive analysis.
Gold Link Bracelet
Apple has announced plans to sell the following bands with its watches: Sport, Classic Buckle, Leather Loop, Modern Buckle, Milanese Loop, and Link Bracelet.
Everyone expects the gold watch to go with the same bracelets, give or take an ounce of gold. However, Gruber thinks Apple has a surprise in store for us:
“I’d place a side bet Apple withheld it in September, and will unveil it as a surprise option at the event they’ll hold before releasing the watches. If you’re going to go gold, go gold,” he writes.
The pundit could well be right, especially knowing how much a regular gold watch costs in today’s market. If anything, Apple’s product will be cheap compared to other vendors’ watches.
Gruber also opines that the regular Apple Watch will come in five pricing tiers, or perhaps even more, ranging from $350 (€307) for the Sport model to $1,000 (€878) for the Steel version.