Apple Watch drops gold edition as luxury dream shatters

　　Although Apple has consistently attempted to enter the luxury watch market, the exclusivity of this segment and its stringent demands for hand craftsmanship have prevented Apple from succeeding. In fact, Apple adopted numerous strategies to achieve this goal.

　　Apple's 18K Gold Edition Apple Watch was priced at up to 1 ten thousand US dollars, positioning it as an entry-level luxury watch. Custom versions of the Apple Watch were even created for celebrities such as Beyoncé and Karl Lagerfeld, yet the results fell short of expectations.

　　At present, Apple has discontinued the first-generation Gold Edition Apple Watch, and it can no longer be found on Apple's official website, replaced instead by a ceramic version. The ceramic Apple Watch is priced at just one-tenth of the gold edition, signalling that Apple has abandoned its goal of breaking into the high-end luxury watch market.

　　A primary reason for Apple's setback lies in the fact thatWorld-class luxury watchesThe average lifespan is 100 years. When clients spend tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or even millions of dollars on a mechanical watch, they are not seeking innovation; these timepieces can be passed down as family heirlooms. In this respect, the Apple Watch, which remains a piece of consumer electronics at heart, simply cannot compare.

　　Evidently, Apple has realised this and consequently focused on sports functionality in its newer smartwatches, introducing custom Nike editions of the Apple Watch alongside water resistance and GPS tracking features.