LG today announced that it has collaborated with U.S. retail jewelry company REEDS Jewelers to launch a premium limited edition of its LG Watch Urbane, dubbed the LG Watch Urbane Luxe.
The premium watch is adorned in 23-karat gold and comes with a alligator leather strap set that will come in a piano-gloss lacquer case. The handcrafted band goes through 50 separate steps and through the hands of 30 different experienced leatherworkers to achieve its gorgeous look.
Under the hood, the Urbane Watch Luxe packs the same internals as the Urbane, which includes a Snapdragon 400 chipset clocked at 1.2GHz, a 9-axis sensor, 1.3-inch circular P-OLED display, 512MB RAM, 4GB storage space, and a 410mAh battery.
“Wearable devices shouldn’t be thought of as an extension of one’s smartphone but an extension of oneself,” said Chris Yie, vice president and head of marketing communications for LG Mobile Communications Company. “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. We think this is a good direction for wearables and we want to encourage this transformation.”
LG states that the 23-karat gold used on the Watch Urbane Luxe is stronger and harder than the 24-karat gold used in jewelry and is heaver than the 18-karat gold traditionally used in luxury watches.
The Korean company will only be making 500 units of the Watch Urbane Luxe and each of them will come engraved with their own serial number for authenticity purposes. The watch will go up for sale initially in the United States in October for $1,200 with pre-orders starting later this month.
