There's no minimum wage in Switzerland. That was a proposal that was massively rejected by the people.
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Apple Watch Pricing
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There's no minimum wage in Switzerland. That was a proposal that was massively rejected by the people.
wow, I was way off the mark but I'm just trying to point out the cost of labour in Switzerland is significantly higher than China.
Firm and stable in shape, strongly built or made of strong materials; not flimsy or slender
Not hollow or containing spaces or gaps, solid consisting of the same substance throughout.
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So:
Where is the screen going to go?
Where is the circuit board going to go?
Where is the battery going to go?
Where is the vibration/tapping device going to go?
Where are the sensors going to go?
Where is the framework these are all screwed onto going to go?
Given Apple wish to make this device as light, and as small as possible, with everything fitting at tight and snuggly as possible, with no wasted space.
Where is the 'SOLID' Great Chunk of gold to be found?
Maybe it's just me but I hardly see the sense in reaching out to the fashion industry, the watch industry, and then cheaping out on the top of the line gold watch by skimping on the case materials and construction.
I also expect apple to charge more for the larger model watch. I really can't think of any situation where they haven't charged more based in size. It is practically guaranteed.
I think a lot of folks here are unfamiliar with the watch market and are drawing analogues with tech product pricing. It will work on the low end, but I don't think it will be analogous on the high end.
Get used to the idea of buying the sport model with a plastic band.
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Are you serious? In the casing.
Hint: if someone pays thousands of dollars to have a gold watch, they don't care how much it weighs.
I also expect apple to charge more for the larger model watch. I really can't think of any situation where they haven't charged more based in size. It is practically guaranteed.
I think a lot of folks here are unfamiliar with the watch market and are drawing analogues with tech product pricing. It will work on the low end, but I don't think it will be analogous on the high end.
Get used to the idea of buying the sport model with a plastic band.
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Are you serious? In the casing.
Hint: if someone pays thousands of dollars to have a gold watch, they don't care how much it weighs.
Ummm, yes, of course they do.
It needs to feel 'Quality' But most people won't want a HEAVY lump on their wrists all day long.
Regards the casing.
Again, I think you can understand, Apple have tried to get as much into this product in as small a space as possible.
Every cubic millimeter is valuable space when you get down this small to fit the electronics or the larger battery of that extra sensor etc.
You really think there is great wasted vast areas of solid metal in there, which could of been used to fit a larger screen, larger battery etc?
I'm not saying it's like a sheet of tin foil!
And there will have to be some solid material around where the strap connects for strength of course.
But I don't understand why some are thinking they would waste any space by using thicker that absolutely necessary metal around to encase the device.
The best we have so far is this image which may be the cases which fit around the device:
http://i.imgur.com/fFPLjVS.jpg
Blurry so must be real
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I think some cantons have minimum wages.
About 15% of full-time workers would make less than what you mentioned.
Ummm, yes, of course they do.
It needs to feel 'Quality' But most people won't want a HEAVY lump on their wrists all day long.
Regards the casing.
Again, I think you can understand, Apple have tried to get as much into this product in as small a space as possible.
Every cubic millimeter is valuable space when you get down this small to fit the electronics or the larger battery of that extra sensor etc.
You really think there is great wasted vast areas of solid metal in there, which could of been used to fit a larger screen, larger battery etc?
I'm not saying it's like a sheet of tin foil!
And there will have to be some solid material around where the strap connects for strength of course.
But I don't understand why some are thinking they would waste any space by using thicker that absolutely necessary metal around to encase the device.
The best we have so far is this image which may be the cases which fit around the device:
http://i.imgur.com/fFPLjVS.jpg
Blurry so must be real
The watch industry has been trending larger and bigger for the past 20 years. What you think people want is not what has been happening. Gold is a luxury statement, not a lightness or efficiency one.
Again, I don't see the point in apple making a gold watch cheaper than all comparables. Sends an odd message ... Hey everyone, we make the cheapest gold watch! Apple is clearly taking guidance from the existing industries so I expect some comparisons on the higher end.
Does it have the same grade of stainless steel?
Any ceramic?
Is the crystal made of sapphire?
Sounds like a good deal if it is all that and $500.
Assuming innards of apple costs about $100-150 and the innards of the Tissot cost about $50 or less, Apple should be able to make the watch within 100 dollars of the Tissot.
We will see.
You really think Gold is a luxury statement?
I thought that was a very old fashioned view.
People of a decade or two ago, going around with gold bling to try and impress.
I thought that was seen now at cheap, tacky and very tasteless.
that may be a European thing, as there was a TV show on where it showed high end American houses and they looked ghastly. Gold tacky bling everywhere. Yuk.
Some European very high end homes were shown also, and were much more subtle and refined with no need to brag your wealth with tacky gold ever where.
However, that say, I still don't think most ladies, and I'm saying ladies for a reason, want to go around with chunky gold chains, chunky gold rings and a chunky gold watch.
They may like the look of gold if it's done subtly, and it can look very nice in moderation, but heavy bling on your wrist. I guess there are some cultures that still regard that as impressive.
Nice: http://media1.break.com/dnet/media/2012/2/29/4bcb4fef-f59f-4d58-a2e9-4a08e958aeae.jpeg
I think you already asked about Tissot's steel in another thread, and someone responded that it is very usual for respectable brands to use good one (I think I saw in the product page it is the same one indeed).
The one I was thinking of is sapphire, as I said.
I don't think ceramic. The only brands where I remember ceramic are Swatch and Rado.
I think the list price was less than $500 some years ago, but now it is close to $600. Probably because of the strong Swiss Franc (which is actually being prevented by the Swiss National Bank from going higher since quite some time, it has gone down a bit lately because it is capped to the Euro, as most exports go to the EU).
You actually asked before about Swatch's, which doesn't show the detail in their website, but Tissot does.
The best we have so far is this image which may be the cases which fit around the device:
http://i.imgur.com/fFPLjVS.jpg
Blurry so must be real
That's a cad drawing that's most likely depicting the aluminum version. I'm sure the stainless steel and gold versions are the same. Obviously the inside were all the electronics goal is not a solid slab of gold. But it also seems clear that the gold version is not an aluminum case with a thin sheet of gold layered over it. If it was it wouldn't be that much heavier than the aluminum or stainless steel version.
My guess, and it's only a guess, if that cad drawing is real.
And it's blurry-ness is usually proof
Yes, that would be the case, in all 3 metals.
I have a feeling the areas of the watch where the straps click into are machines out also, leaving the whole case to be the thickness it seems to be.
I don't feel the areas at the top and bottom of the watch are solid, as I said machined out, as it makes no sense to fill the body with left over metal when space is such a premium inside for this type of device.
That said, even with 'just' this amount of material, there will be a weight difference between the metals.
My gut feeling, wild guess is it's about 1.50 to 1.75mm thick all around.
In another 5 months time, you can tell me how wrong I was with that guess
Here is a quote from Jony Ive in a Vogue interview. While it not a specific remark towards the gold content you can read between the lines. I'm sure by weight he didn't mean 'real' lead added. If the aWatch Edition is released without being a traditional industry standard solid 18k watch case, Apple will be hit with what could be it's biggest publicity scandal ever. Also teardowns will happen within hours of the release so the world will now on the first day.
Jony Ive Vogue interview:
Oh yes yes.
I'm sure someone could do the maths.
If we say 1mm, 2mm, 3mm of the casing in that CAD file image I linked to, with the watch size dimensions we know about already, no front, and limited back of course.
It would not be hard in a 3D program to come up with a cubic amount of material in the case, with say those 3 possible thicknesses.
I'd be surprised if it's 3mm as that's 6mm inside of wasted space in X, Y and a little bit of Z directions and that's a hell of a lot of space to waste on a case when it could be used for battery/electronics/sensors.
As you say, we'll all know when it's launches.
I guess it could be 3mm thick. does seem a lot to waste.
You are right. it can't be tin foil as it would be a joke. It will be thick enough to be regarded as enough I'm sure.
Perhaps someone can CAD it up and come up with cubic areas and we can work out weights of that amount of material in Aluminium, Steel and Gold
Oh yes yes.
I'm sure someone could do the maths.
If we say 1mm, 2mm, 3mm of the casing in that CAD file image I linked to, with the watch size dimensions we know about already, no front, and limited back of course.
It would not be hard in a 3D program to come up with a cubic amount of material in the case, with say those 3 possible thicknesses.
I'd be surprised if it's 3mm as that's 6mm inside of wasted space in X, Y and a little bit of Z directions and that's a hell of a lot of space to waste on a case when it could be used for battery/electronics/sensors.
As you say, we'll all know when it's launches.
I guess it could be 3mm thick. does seem a lot to waste.
You are right. it can't be tin foil as it would be a joke. It will be thick enough to be regarded as enough I'm sure.
Perhaps someone can CAD it up and come up with cubic areas and we can work out weights of that amount of material in Aluminium, Steel and Gold
Let's assume for an argument that you are correct and it is just a 'thin' layer of gold. How do you explain the substantial weight of the Edition that everyone comments on. What are the 'real materials' Jony Ive says Apple is using to make the Edition heaver if it doesn't contain much gold? Do you believe Apple is purposely adding ballast to the Edition knowing full well this will be exposed on launch day?
NoNo.
I'm not saying Any Ballast. though companies do that, I even have a carriage clock with a lump of metal inside it to make it heavy!)
I totally agree the Gold one will be heavier, or course it will be.
Aluminium does not weigh the same as Gold
Without scales it's impossible to know.
Reality = if I handed you an Aluminium watch and told you, to your face, this is the lightweight Aluminium one for sports.
Then I gave you the gold one which was heavier, and told you here is the high end solid gold one, you can feel the weight difference.
You would take it from me, and say, oh yes, I can feel how much heavier that is that the other one.
And you would write in your article how much heavier it was.
That's the reality of what's happened so far.
People know it's heavier, have been told/assumed it's heavier, which it is of course as it's Gold, but until you weigh it, we are guessing.
Ok, found it
Cubic centimeter of Aluminium = 2.7 grams
Cubic centimeter of Gold = 19.32 grams (I'm assuming that's 24k)
So there we are. Seven times the weight.
So even if the case is say 2mm thick, there would be a noticable difference between the two with the gold one being 7x the weight.
Even with the same parts inside.
That 'trick' might work on you or I but only a fool would believe that trick would work on some one like Benjamin Claymer or Ariel Adams.
Occam's razor:
1) Edition is a traditional 18K watch case following in the watch industry standards.
2) Your conspiracy theory that Apple has fooled the entire tech press, fashion press and watch press into believing it's making a traditional 18K gold product knowing full well they will be completely exposed and humiliated on launch day.
Why is it a surprise that the apple watch has a pretty thin external case?
It's what I would expect. I don't think anyone is fooling anyone.
I agree
There is no trick
Everyone knows it's a micro iPodTouch on your wrist in a typically nice Apple case.
I'm not sure why anyone would think there is a vast thick chunky gold case there. Apple are known for thin, lightweight, well designed.
The only people I think who are fooling are not Apple, it's those who individuals who are looking at a tradional watch case, and thinking this is the way the Apple watch is constructed.
I have news for you:
This Apple device, really.... It's NOT a watch.
It's a computer on your wrist, using our old friend "Skeuomorphism" to the fullest extent, even with a fake winding dial to pretend it's a watch.
It's no more a watch than my PC or an iMac is in reality.
Many good points in the posts above. They've made me reconsider my guess at the Edition price point,
I agree the case will be solid gold, but there also is not going to be as much mass to the case as there is on a traditional watch. I am sure that Apple has hollowed out the case as much as possible to fit in the electronic bits.
i would think that percentage wise, there'll be more "stuff" to jam in the case than in a traditional mechanical watch.
That may help keep the gold price down.
I agree the case will be solid gold, but there also is not going to be as much mass to the case as there is on a traditional watch. I am sure that Apple has hollowed out the case as much as possible to fit in the electronic bits.
i would think that percentage wise, there'll be more "stuff" to jam in the case than in a traditional mechanical watch.
That may help keep the gold price down.