LG is expanding distribution into jewelry stores, but only with a limited-edition LG Watch Urbane Luxe smart watch at $1,195.
The luxurious watch is available at Reeds Jewelers stores in the United States and at Reeds.com.
LG isn’t the only smart watch maker targeting the luxury market through alternate channels of distribution. Apple’s Watch selection includes a limited-quantity edition that comes with 18-karat rose gold or yellow gold case at more than $10,000 to around $17,000. It’s available at such stores as London Jewelers. A Hermes edition is available at Hermes stores. Other Apple Watches are available through boutiques in major cities, including Colette in Paris, Dover Street Market in London and Tokyo, Maxfield in Los Angeles and The Corner in Berlin.
LG’s Urbane Luxe is the result of a collaboration between LG Electronics and Reeds Jewelers, involving more than 40 artisans who spent more than three months crafting it, Reeds said. It features 23-karat-gold heavy plate and hand-made alligator leather band. It comes in piano-gloss lacquer case. Each is engraved with its edition number and a hand-signed certificate of authenticity.
The Urbane Luxe comes with mahogany-brown alligator band, but consumers can personalize their watch with customized alligator band colors at $195 each. The device runs on the latest version of Android Wear, which connects to smartphones running Android 4.3 and above and to iOS phones running iOS 8.2 and up.
