LG on Monday announced the Urbane Watch Luxe, a special version of its Urbane lineup that it hopes will appeal to folks in the market for an Apple Watch Edition.
Featuring a 23-karat gold case and available with a new alligator strap, the Urbane Watch Luxe was created in partnership with US-based REEDS Jewelers which will handle sales of LG’s Android Wear device in the United States. The limited-edition smartwatch costs $1,200 a pop and will go on sale beginning October.
Gold is the best
In addition to the 23-karat gold case, the watch has a deployment clasp (invented by Louis Cartier in 1910) which makes the device more exclusive and unique. The alligator band has undergone 50 separate steps in its creation by 30 experienced leatherworkers.
“This blending of craftsmanship and technology is a natural evolution of the smartwatch, which is becoming more of a lifestyle accessory than a piece of hardware,” said Chris Yie, vice president and head of marketing communications for LG Mobile.
“We think this is a good direction for wearables and we want to encourage this transformation.” The company states that the 23-karat gold used in the Urbane Luxe is stronger and harder than the 24-karat gold used in jewelry and heavier than the 18-karat gold used in traditional luxury watches.
Unchanged hardware
Aside from a luxurious appearance, the hardware inside the Urbane Watch Luxe is the same as that powering the regular Urbane Luxe lineup. The watch features a 1.3-inch round display based on OLED technology, just like the Apple Watch’s OLED screen made by LG’s mobile display unit.
The device is powered by a 1.2 GHz quad-core processor with 512MB of RAM and is IP67 dust and waterproof (the Apple Watch has an IPX7 water resistance rating). Like the Apple Watch Edition, the Urbane Luxe ships in a nicely designed box.
Availability
LG plans on making only five-hundred units of the Urbane Watch Luxe, each engraved with its own serial number for authenticity, betting that an extremely limited run will boost the smartwatch’s resale value. As mentioned, the $1,200 device is scheduled to begin hitting REEDS Jewelers locations in the United States at the end of October.
If you’re interested, you can pre-order yours later this month at www.REEDS.com or by visiting any REEDS Jewelers location in the United States.
The whole LG Watch Urbane lineup works with your iPhone as Google today officially released Android Wear for iOS.
The software supports features like receiving phone calls, messages and other notifications from your favorite iPhone apps, setting fitness goals and getting daily and weekly views of your progress, and receiving on your iPhone timely tips like when to leave for appointments, current traffic info and flight status.
Support for more Android Wear devices from Huawei, Asus and Motorola is due at a later stage. Android Wear for iOS requires any iPhone from the iPhone 5 onward with iOS 8.2+.
Source: LG