Apple's Jony Ive Says Gold Lust Drove Watch Material Selection
Love of material "drives so much of what we do"
(L-R) International Vogue Editor Suzy Menkes, Apple's vice president of design, Jonathan Ive, and designer Marc Newson attend the Condé Nast International Luxury Conference at Palazzo Vecchio on April 22, 2015, in Florence, Italy.
Photographer: Andreas Rentz/Getty Images for Conde' Nast International Luxury ConferenceThis article is for subscribers only.
When it came to picking 18-karat gold for the Watch, Apple's first new gadget in five years, the company's top designer went with what felt best.
"The choice of gold wasn’t driven by some notion of predetermined price point—that absolutely wasn't the reason we chose that material," Jony Ive said Wednesday, April 22, in Florence, Italy, during a rare public appearance. "We chose that material because we loved it, and we didn’t just buy it off the shelf; we developed our own gold."