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Apples patent-pending 18k gold: Harder, more scratch-resistant, and less gold
- Thread starter Rogifan
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Less gold than if they had used a more traditional alloy material such as silver or nickel. What it comes down to is that a given mass of ceramic takes up more space than a given mass of silver. Think a pound of feathers vs. a pound of water, or a pound of ice vs. the same amount of liquid water.
All 18kt means is that 75% of the mass is gold, not 75% of the volume.
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If you look closely at Apple's website, they aren't calling it an "alloy," but a "formulation." It is still 75% gold. So they are mixing it with a non-metal (boron nitride or boron carbide) instead of another metal.
Yes but......you don't buy gold by volume one ounce of 18 carat gold is going to be worth X amount regardless of how big or small it is. If the AW had more gold it would be heavier and cost more. I don't see how you think volume is relevant
The issue is how much gold Apple needs. The case of the Watch is the same volume whether it is steel or gold. If they found a way to use a less dense alloy/formulation, they don't need as much gold.
OTOH, both the news part of the FT and the Daily Mail still say it will be $10,000, and John Gruber doesn't see the use of the patented alloy/formulation bringing down the price.
A typical gold watch of that size has around 1 troy oz of gold. If the Apple Watch has half a troy oz in the same form factor, then conceivably they might have a harder time justifying the same price as a traditional watch, particularly since it will become out of date much more quickly, whether or not the internals can be upgraded for roughly the same price as a high-end mechanical watch can be serviced.
There is no way that by using a different material in 25% of an alloy or formulation or what ever you want to call it can you produce two similar item but one uses half the material. Also they ain't going to charge an unreasonable amount for it definitely less than $5000 IMO
$1000 in gold
$1000 for exclusivity
$1000 development costs
Plus a bit more probably
That's my guess
That's the claim. Remember, the 75% refers to mass, not volume. Ceramic is less dense than the metals commonly alloyed with gold, so it takes up more space.
But not just any crayon
Apple has spent years developing a new structural material, using highly skilled crayolgists in France that have been focusing on creating the new crayolaulatomer specifically for use in this new product
But not just any crayon
Apple has spent years developing a new structural material, using highly skilled crayolgists in France that have been focusing on creating the new crayolaulatomer specifically for use in this new product
It's unapologetically Crayola.
As I said in a previous post the ceramic is likely a very small percentage (probably 1% range) of the alloy and has negligible effect on the alloy mixture needed for proper tinting. Only copper can give the proper red tint for rose or red gold. It also probably has negligible effect on it's volume to specific gravity ratio. So other that some increases in strength (probably a lot of marketing hype too) all other aspects will remain relatively the same as any other 18K gold alloy.
Close but based on new sales figures the development costs were 372.09
But that's a very good guess, I like it
Iron aluminum silicate (red garnet). See chart below.
Sure there is. If the 25% (by weight) material is larger and less dense than normal, then it will cover more volume while weighing less... meaning the 75% (by weight) gold required to stay 18kt is also less. As the patent puts it:
"In addition to using as little gold as possible while maintaining a specific karatage, a gMMC can be formed that has selected aesthetic properties well suited for providing a favorable user experience. For example, a unit volume of 18 k of gMMC that uses gold in combination with a ceramic as a reinforcement can be less dense, can require less gold, and can be more scratch resistant than that of a unit volume of gold alloy of the same karatage without ceramic."
Check out the amount of gold required for the SAME VOLUME electronic device case, as charted in the patent. The new material requires HALF as much gold to stay 18kt.
A = regular 18kt gold. Requires 25.8g of gold.
B = yellow patent gold. Requires 12.1g of gold.
F = rose patent gold. Requires 11.6g of gold.
I'm not sure how I feel about the rose gold Apple Watch having less gold than the yellow gold counterpart...
Might as well give up the Apple Watch altogether, as gold takes up only 28% of the volume (vs. 61% of the volume in a conventional 18K gold alloy).
Better get one of those Rolex and maximize your gold/volume worth
Looks like yellow, amber, yellow (?)
Here's a particle color chart from the patent.
PS. Higher density = greater perceived heft
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Sounds like it'll be a while lot lighter than traditional gold. Which is during because people who seen them in person said that the gold is noticeably heavy.
Yes, that's the unexplained anomaly.
If it's not just bogus human perception or something about the bands, then either they're not using this new material, or they've added something like an extra heavier shell inside, or maybe it has a different and larger/heavier type of battery?
To better understand how Apples new gold works, and how it is made, watch this video.
This isn't an entirely new method of making stronger gold, because it was actually first made by Hublot with their "Magic Gold", as you can see in the video.
This isn't an entirely new method of making stronger gold, because it was actually first made by Hublot with their "Magic Gold", as you can see in the video.
Apples patent-pending 18k gold: Harder, more scratch-resistant, and less gold
Is it at all possible that the price of the watch would be based on he market price of gold and would be subject to change?
Apple seemed open that it's a custom mix that makes the gold. The k I thought had to do with the amount of gold compared to other items. It seems at least feasible that it the other variables are different but the percentage of gold is still 18k.
For example, just tossing out percentages, if normal 18k Gold is made up of 85% pure gold, 7% nickel, and 8% copper, then Apple's 18k Gold made up of 85% pure gold, 5% nickel, and 10% Apple Unobtanium is still the same amount of gold.
Am I understanding this correctly?
Is it at all possible that the price of the watch would be based on he market price of gold and would be subject to change?
Apple seemed open that it's a custom mix that makes the gold. The k I thought had to do with the amount of gold compared to other items. It seems at least feasible that it the other variables are different but the percentage of gold is still 18k.
For example, just tossing out percentages, if normal 18k Gold is made up of 85% pure gold, 7% nickel, and 8% copper, then Apple's 18k Gold made up of 85% pure gold, 5% nickel, and 10% Apple Unobtanium is still the same amount of gold.
Am I understanding this correctly?
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Yes, except that apple "gold" has more volume at same weight. So an apple watch body has less gold in it, than if it where regular 18k gold as same dimensions.