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$100 kit lets you plate Apple Watch with 24K gold DIY-style (Video)

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 Watch— 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:

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=76&v=ZlJYqWOel4s]

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.

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Comments

  1. Howie Isaacks - 9 years ago

    Dumb.

  2. WLASIKIEWICZ - 9 years ago

    Looks good and a cheap solution to do at home.

  3. tmrjij718 - 9 years ago

    I can see a lot of people doing this. This can trick a lot of people if they don’t actually look closely at it or touch it.

    • Eric Knoll - 9 years ago

      This is the creator of the Kickstarter project for the $97 gold plating kit.

      The 24K gold plated watch with the kit is similar enough to the appearance of the $10,000 watch to fool Apple Geniuses! I took my 24K gold plated watch (pictured in the Kickstarter) to a New York City Apple Store. Upon seeing the gold watch, the Apple Geniuses treated me to concierge service, cutting the entire line, and had the manager of the store help me. Quite a different experience. So it fooled the experts. At least until the manager asked for my Apple ID, and didn’t see a $10,000 purchase in my order history.

      • Steve Owens - 8 years ago

        I understand this is designed for the watch itself, but how much surface can you actually cover with the solution? I actually have some stainless steel pistol parts I would like to Gold plate, so this kit should work on those as well correct?

      • horriblestar5 - 7 years ago

        Lol that’s so funny! I never heard that an Apple Store employee mistakes the gold plated Apple Watch as an Apple Watch Edition!

  4. hal9kmx - 9 years ago

    Good. Now is cheaper to get killed for a fake gold watch.

  5. ryanvaldezzz - 9 years ago

    Please make a $100 dollar kit for the sport! I would definitely buy it!!!!!

  6. ryanvaldezzz - 9 years ago

    ***For the Apple watch SPORT edition.

  7. mryarble - 9 years ago

    Reblogged this on MrYarble and commented:
    Wow! #DIY 24K gold #AppleWatch kits for $100.

  8. The whole point in a real gold watch is that it’s made out of real gold, not that it’s simply gold colored. Because to anyone with taste, the gold color just looks crap.

    • macmaniman - 9 years ago

      So if I understood you, you can tell the difference between solid gold and gold plated without touching it?

      • Bct Pol - 9 years ago

        yesss, very easily, gold plated is 24 carats, pure yellow-green, and normal gold is 18 carats, more on the yellow-red or yellow-white side, once you have seen one, you ‘ll never mistake one for the other.

      • varera (@real_varera) - 9 years ago

        Just look at the back pane, where “stainless steel” is written

    • PMZanetti - 9 years ago

      Nope, gonna have to disagree with you. The whole point is the look. Some people only wear gold jewelry, so a stainless steel watch is out of the question. Spending $100 to go plate and Apple Watch makes a hell of a lot more sense in spending over $10,000 on the same exact product just for a particular color.

  9. taojones2013 - 9 years ago

    as a jeweler with 40 years experience i can tell you stainless steel is very difficult to plate with gold the electro cleaning part uses a weak lye compound the problem starts with step 2 the item needs to be well rinsed in distilled water and the pen plating solution and the tip used must be really clean. the problem is with stainless steel itself (they don’t call it stainless for nothing) the coating of gold left by the plating can be easily rubbed off the item to do it right needs a copper plate followed by a nickel plate undercoat really hard to do with a pen plater (those things are used to retouch prongs after diamond setting) not broad surfaces .

    • Eric Knoll - 9 years ago

      Comment from Eric, the creator of the $97 gold plating kit Kickstarter project:

      The above jeweler is absolutely correct about gold plating stainless steel being difficult. There are different chemical processes available to jewelers. The process mentioned with the copper plating, then nickel, then gold is one option.

      However, another option is using the Wood’s Nickel Strike solution (step 2 in our kit). The steps in the kit are specifically designed to gold plate stainless steel.

      To the Jeweler: Test Woods Nickel Strike on your own. It’s absolutely AMAZING in allowing difficult stainless steel to be plated with gold!

      Google “woods nickel strike stainless steel” to see metal finishing forums with professionals talking about how this works for stainless steel. Or consult the Metal Finishing Guidebook.

      https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/638741610/plate-your-steel-apple-watch-with-24k-gold

      • horriblestar5 - 7 years ago

        Looks like gold plating with an Apple Watch with your set is a messy situation! I would need to put a placemat on my table and dress in old clothes before I do this.

  10. ShadowPeo - 9 years ago

    Tao makes a good point, however this is nothing new I have gotten things from Mike and Lance over at Caswell Plating before (http://www.caswellplating.com/plug-n-plate-brush-plating-kits.html) and you can get one or more kits, black chrome anyone….

  11. rnc - 9 years ago

    From the imitation of the original, here comes the imitation of the imitation!

  12. lkrupp215 - 9 years ago

    Only a total loser would do something like this, probably along with trying to represent it as a legitimate Edition model. Fake Rolexes abound for the jerk crowd and this is no different.

  13. srgmac - 9 years ago

    How the heck are these guys allowed to call themselves “Midas Touch” lol…

  14. George Pollen - 9 years ago

    Apple did a lot of research into the aluminum and stainless steel used in order to make gold plating not work well. Sure it looks nice when first done but how well does it wear?

  15. Is the gold look really that desirable? Or is it just to fool people into believing that you’re wearing a watch that cost a 5 digit sum? I think nobody I know would believe that.

    I didn’t buy the Apple Watch for the looks (heck, it’s a pretty bulky piece of hardware – my old Skagen looks much better than that), but when given a choice, I prefer the more stylish space gray. When they develop a method to turn the space gray into a shiny purple, then I might be on board. But gold? No, thanks.

  16. Nathan Kellert - 9 years ago

    Not bad!Bear in mind that this isnt the “rose gold” that comes with the apple watch edition. I would actually rather have a stronger 18K gold than 24K. Since its 24K gold you wont have any of the additives that help keep the gold from nicking and scratching.

    • Eric Knoll - 9 years ago

      The 24K gold plating in the kit has a cobalt hardener to prevent scratching and improve durability

  17. PMZanetti - 9 years ago

    Wouldn’t you cover the ceramic plate before doing this? Video/Gif seems extreme suspect.

  18. Julie Harnois - 8 years ago

    there are kits on ebay for 40$ to do that same thing
    i’m a plater, this wont last years. The part touching your skin wont last more than 1 month exept if his solution have cobalt or nickel in it, and that will likely give allergy to a lot of people

  19. horriblestar5 - 7 years ago

    How can I get this set?

Author

Avatar for Jordan Kahn Jordan Kahn

Jordan writes about all things Apple as Senior Editor of 9to5Mac, & contributes to 9to5Google, 9to5Toys, & Electrek.co. He also co-authors 9to5Mac’s Logic Pros series.