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Gold Apple Watch Battle: Hands-On With Aluminum Gold + Real Gold, Which Wins? [Video]

Today we are looking at the Gold Apple Watch Sport and comparing it to something closer to the real deal. This is a relatively new color release from Apple and if you can’t afford the real gold version this may be the next best option, but you’re making a sacrifice in materials. Personally, I like the gold aluminum as it matches the gold iPhone, but I prefer the stainless steel Apple Watch as it features a sapphire display to prevent scratches…

Luckily, you can have your cake and eat it too, well kind of. Apple may not have anything for the baller on a budget, but you can get your stainless steel Apple Watch plated in gold, which I’ve done through WatchPlate. I showed you guys a video on my gold-plated Apple Watch a while back, but I thought it would be nice to compare the gold Apple Watch Sport to the gold-plated Apple Watch and get a better sense of what’s involved here. Another cool thing is that either route you go, you’ll end up with a matching band like you see here on the Sport bands with gold pins.

Check out our gold Apple Watch comparison video below:

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QR5cig3YS4A]

Obviously, the gold on the plated version is going to be much closer in look and appeal to those considering an Apple Watch Edition, but aren’t crazy enough to buy one. This is as gold as it gets right here. You’ll need to pickup an Apple Watch starting at $549 and send it off to Watch Plate for the plating which will run you around $399, but it’s ultimately going to look like the Edition and damn it looks good… if that’s what you’re going for.

If you want the gold look to match up with your other iOS devices, the gold Apple Watch Sport is the way to go. It starts out at $349, but again, you’re missing out on the stainless steel design (which may not matter to everyone) as well as the sapphire covered display. There are other minor differences on the back side of the watches, but at the end of the day a scratch-free display is a happy one.

Side-by-side there’s a clear difference in the gold tone between these two. One isn’t necessarily better than the other though. It’s a matter of taste. Either way, I can’t help but love the plated version more than the aluminum Sport due to the materials and true gold tone. It’s a bit flashier, but it’s the only way you’ll get something remotely close to this without spending $10,000. Again, that’s crazy. more power to you if you’re rocking an Edition though.

Which do you prefer? Like I said, I’m a fan of the gold plated version, but would love to see Apple release a gold Sport with a sapphire display. That’s obviously not going to happen though. So for now, your options are to either buy the gold Apple Watch Sport, buy an Apple Watch and send it off to for plating (or purchase one directly from them), or go high-roller status with the Edition. Which gold Apple Watch do you prefer? Sound off in the comments below.

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Comments

  1. Paul Andrew Dixon - 9 years ago

    I think, if you want to be one of those people who go after designer wear and want luxurious jewellery and boast about it because you have too much money (or a lack of sense), then get the apple gold edition…

    If you still want a very nice watch, and you really must have that gold but at a cheaper price – then get the steel…

    personally – for apple products, if you have the gold iphone and the gold ipad and even the gold macbook – then it would make more sense to get the sports ed…

    unfortunately i dont go to big important events… i dont have vain friends who must have the best of the best… i also don’t like bling bling crap… for me, silver and gold are bling bling and strangely they look cheap…lol…i guess for me i think a little gold looks fashionable, but a lot of gold just makes it look tacky… plus if you are going for a run, a real gold watch just looks stupid to me… i think if you are a business man, or regularly go to events etc – then go for real gold… if you are really concerned about it being scratched and you want a more traditional look, go for steel… if you want a more modern look and something you can wear for most occasions and even look perfectly ok exercising, then go for the sports ed…

    for me… i would like the sports gold, or the sports black… im not keen on the silver or the steel – they look outdated to me…

  2. Yariv Nissim (@yar1vn) - 9 years ago

    Who cares.

    • PhilBoogie - 9 years ago

      I think the article was more informative than you’re response. But, YMMV.

    • David Di Franco Jr. - 9 years ago

      Who is Who? Your poor punctuation usage implies that you’re talking about a person named Who. So, yes… Obviously someone does care.

      • Yariv Nissim - 8 years ago

        Fine observation. Was that your video?

  3. Smigit - 9 years ago

    Would have been better to compare them without one having a plastic film attached to it which no doubt impacts the finish showing up in the photo’s. As it stands, they don’t seem to be substantially different. I suspect next year we’ll see a gold Steel watch get introduced into the lineup.

  4. sword 2 pen (@sword2pen) - 9 years ago

    Nice vid Dom – my preference would be the aluminium gold because of the smooth look factor and matching iPhone factor \m/

  5. This article title is a bit misleading. The title makes it seam like you’re comparing the gold sports AW with the Edition. Not comparing the sport with a 3rd party plated steel. Also I’ve heard that the plating process weakens the sapphire crystal so it may not be best for everyone.

  6. Martin Fry - 9 years ago

    You’ve mentioned the gold ‘plated’ version a couple of times in this story. Now I don’t mean to be a stickler for the details but the Edition is a solid Gold watch, not plated. Hence the hefty price tag! The only reason I make the point is that this article is primarily about personal preference and to a lot of people the fact it is solid gold would be a very appealing feature against just being gold plated. :) Either way my favourite has to be the Space Black Stainless Steel Apple Watch!

    • Martin Fry - 9 years ago

      Next time i need to read the article a little better! haha just seen the plated info at the top haha! that’ll teach me to skim read ;)

  7. ishan24 - 9 years ago

    The real gold one is for Obama, not me!! I am happy with the steel!!

  8. “You’ll need to pickup an Apple Watch…”

    The verb is “pick up”. Not “pickup”.