Skip to main content

Apple Watch Ultra now comes in a fancy, shiny design — if you’re willing to pay

Apple went all-out on the ruggedness aspect with the Apple Watch Ultra. It’s undeniably big, unabashedly bold, and loaded to the gills with features that extreme sports enthusiasts will appreciate. But one area where Apple didn’t experiment much is design versatility. For a starting price of an eye-watering $899, the only color you can see on the case is a matte titanium finish. But that doesn’t mean a little blingy touch-up is out of the question. 

Arizona-based De Billas Lux — which offers custom gold-plating services for the Apple Watch, Samsung Galaxy smartwatches, straps, and even iPhones —  has given its signature polishing treatment to the Apple Watch Ultra. Going a step further, the folks over at De Billas Lux paired it with a matching link band flaunting the raw look of silvery polished metal.  

Polished version of Apple Watch Ultra.
De Billas Lux

The combination looks as premium as it gets, and exudes the same metallic aura as the stainless steel trim of the Apple Watch. The polished case is an all-metal affair and even removes the orange highlight on the action button, leaving only the circular accent for the rotating crown, which actually provides a nice contrast and breaks the monotony.

Recommended Videos

How did the polishing happen?

The jeweler showcased its latest artwork in a YouTube video and posted some pictures on the official listing page. When Digital Trends reached out to De Billas Lux regarding the work that went into achieving the polished metal look, here’s what the team offered: 

We start by very carefully preparing the watch to be treated with an electrolytic solution in order to remove the paint and previous finish. After this, we carefully start polishing the watch with our special equipment in order to achieve the mirror finish you see.”

Polished 49mm Apple Watch Ultra - Custom Mirror Finish!

The whole package includes the Apple Watch Ultra, paired with the link bracelet seen in the pictures, an Apple smartwatch charging puck, and an optional custom box. However, all that lustrous goodness of the Apple Watch Ultra comes at a steep $1,499 — nearly double the asking price of the smartwatch itself on the retail shelf. 

Unfortunately, the jeweler won’t say if the process has an impact on the ingress protection offered by the smartwatch. However, if you’re concerned about invalidating the warranty that Apple offers with its Ultra smartwatch, it’s a safe bet to stay away from the custom-polished model.

Removing the paint on Apple Watch Ultra.
perezr10 / Macrumors Forum

In case you’re feeling adventurous but not enough to spend a ton on a polished Apple Watch Ultra, it appears that you can remove the action button’s orange accent without visiting a luxury jewelry shop and even give it a brushed metal finish.

As per images shared on the Macrumors forum, one user did just that using a Dremel. To be honest, the work here looks refined, and the result is nothing short of stunning. But again, do not go on a DIY Apple Watch Ultra polishing project on your own, lest you risk causing some expensive damage.

Nadeem Sarwar
Nadeem is a tech and science journalist who started reading about cool smartphone tech out of curiosity and soon started…
watchOS 12: everything you need to know
The Apple Watch SE 2 with the Apple Watch Series 10.

One of the great things about modern smart devices is that they’re gifts that keep on giving, thanks to their frequent software updates. Whether it’s a phone, a watch, or even a TV, chances are the device you’re using today isn’t quite the same one you bought three or four years ago.

That’s just as true with the Apple Watch. When Apple releases its watchOS 12 update later this year, many Apple Watch owners will find themselves with an even more powerful wearable than they first bought.

Read more
Apple Watch SE 3’s future appears uncertain with a looming price hike
Apple Watch SE with Nomad Aluminum Band

Apple last updated its affordable “SE” series smartwatch back in 2022. Priced at $250, the smartwatch offered a decent mix of wellness capabilities, clean design, and long battery life. But in time that has elapsed since, rivals like Samsung, OnePlus, and Mobvoi have offered fantastic value-centric models of their own.
Apple, on the other hand, hasn’t said a word on the next Watch SE trim. It seems the third-generation Apple Watch SE might take a while to arrive, and the delay may not be strategic. As per Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, the affordable model might be in “serious jeopardy” due to hardware-related snags.
“The design team doesn’t like the look, and the operations team is finding it difficult to make the casing materially cheaper than the current aluminum chassis,” says the report. The outlet recently reported that Apple was experimenting with other materials in order to bring the manufacturing costs down.

A big shift

Read more
Apple Watch might get a camera upgrade in the near future
The front of the Apple Watch Ultra.

Apple hasn’t delivered any major hardware-focused health breakthroughs on its recent smartwatches. The current-gen Series 10 smartwatch is mostly a slimmed-down avatar of its predecessor, and it appears that next-gen facilities like blood pressure monitoring continue to run into hurdles.
But Apple could add a different kind of sensor to its smartwatch, one that we are all too familiar with. According to Bloomberg, the company is planning to add a camera to the Apple Watch — both the mainline as well as the top-end Ultra model.
“The current idea is to put the camera inside the display of the Series version, like the front-facing lens on the iPhone. The Ultra will take a different approach, with the camera lens sitting on the side of the watch near the crown and button,” says the report.
Interestingly, Meta explored the idea years ago, but eventually killed the project. It isn’t clear how soon we are going to see these camera-equipped Apple Watch models hit the market. Moreover, there is no word on what exactly these cameras will accomplish. However, a quick look at Apple’s AI and health stack gives us a clear idea.

It could be a wellness boon

Read more