New Delhi: The Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group, a luxury jeweller, sparked controversy online when it announced a diamond-covered case of AirPods that will retail in mainland China at 788,800 yuan (approximately $115,000) of gold. The luxurious accessory, crafted out of approximately 350 grams of gold, was recently displayed on the official account of the company on Weibo among other gold-inlaid accessories.
In February, the case of unique AirPods was allegedly sold at the brand store located in the Shanghai Grand Gateway 66 mall. The company was also launching gold-inlaid hair clips at 2,080 yuan apiece, with approximately 0.42 grams of gold, and this also pointed to the jeweller moving towards high-end, design-based accessories.
Luxury statement or excess?
The launch rapidly gained publicity on Chinese social media. Other users admired the design, whereby the AirPods gold case was more of a work of art than an accessory to a gadget. Other people emphasised the high cost, with one commentator making a joke that poverty makes imagination dull.
Chow Tai Fook claimed that it was a one-off limited edition of the product, although the company will take on custom orders. Bespoke models would be quoted based on prevailing gold prices, and production of the same would normally take two-three months.