The article implies that the gold Apple Watch was a flop, which is a view held by those who don't understand how marketing works. Quite apart from a failure, it was a smashing success because the point was never to sell a large quantity of gold watches, but rather to generate a huge buzz and draw attention to how the Apple Watch was in a very different category than the rest of the smart watch market, including that it could be a high fashion accessory depending on the bands, etc., you chose. Ingenious. All of that was achieved, and that initial introduction kick started the Apple Watch into the tremendous success it is today where it essentially owns the smart watch category.