A geek maker comes by his 18-karat gold iPod Nano watch the hard way, by making it himself over the course of 500 hours of work. June 13, 2013 8:50 AM PDT A maker crafts his own iBling. (Credit: Screenshot by Amanda Kooser/CNET) When it comes to gold-slathered Apple products, there are plenty of options. Most people who buy them sneeze money and think nothing of tossing cash at a gaudy, high-priced accessory like an iPad with diamonds and T. rex bones. Ted Chapanian, however, came by his gold iPod watch through a whole lot of personal hard work. The AuPod is made from a 6th generation iPod Nano and 18-karat gold. It took over 500 hours to build and cost $2,500 in materials. Considering that a gold iPhone 4S had a price tag of $9.4 million, that's not bad. The process used to create the housing was lost wax casting. Chapanian's wife posted his making-of video to Reddit and fielded questions about the project. The video is pretty comprehensive, just in case you happen to have your own jewelry-making equipment, furnace, and centrifuge at home, and want to tackle this for yourself. Several screens were cracked during the build through trial and error. The worst catastrophe during the project was an issue with the centrifuge that sent tiny bits of molten gold flying everywhere around the room. The watch isn't an everyday piece, his wife says he only wears it for special occasions. If I had made a watch that required this much time and money, I would be tempted to flash it pretty often. If someone asked about it, I would just shrug and say, "Oh, this old thing? It's just an 18-karat gold iPod watch I spent 500 hours making. Nothing special."
A geek maker comes by his 18-karat gold iPod Nano watch the hard way, by making it himself over the course of 500 hours of work.
A maker crafts his own iBling.
(Credit: Screenshot by Amanda Kooser/CNET)
When it comes to gold-slathered Apple products, there are plenty of options. Most people who buy them sneeze money and think nothing of tossing cash at a gaudy, high-priced accessory like an iPad with diamonds and T. rex bones. Ted Chapanian, however, came by his gold iPod watch through a whole lot of personal hard work.
The AuPod is made from a 6th generation iPod Nano and 18-karat gold. It took over 500 hours to build and cost $2,500 in materials. Considering that a gold iPhone 4S had a price tag of $9.4 million, that's not bad.
The process used to create the housing was lost wax casting. Chapanian's wife posted his making-of video to Reddit and fielded questions about the project. The video is pretty comprehensive, just in case you happen to have your own jewelry-making equipment, furnace, and centrifuge at home, and want to tackle this for yourself.
Several screens were cracked during the build through trial and error. The worst catastrophe during the project was an issue with the centrifuge that sent tiny bits of molten gold flying everywhere around the room.
The watch isn't an everyday piece, his wife says he only wears it for special occasions.
If I had made a watch that required this much time and money, I would be tempted to flash it pretty often. If someone asked about it, I would just shrug and say, "Oh, this old thing? It's just an 18-karat gold iPod watch I spent 500 hours making. Nothing special."
