For the well-heeled and decidedly pretentious customer, a series product will simply not do. Why have something that everyone else has, when you could get a limited-series item to go with that ego? A gold item, no less.
Gold customization has been around since forever and, though taking somewhat of a reputational hit in recent years, it’s still widely popular. Some people like to clad their cars in gold, while others get gold customization on their bicycles or motorcycles. Some people can’t go number two if that means sitting on a regular toilet, so all their bathroom fixtures are either solid gold or gilded.
To each their own, we say, but the bottom line is that, no matter how ridiculous it might seem to most of us, gold customization is still regarded as the highest level of sophistication and taste – not to mention a status symbol. Gadget customizer slash jeweler Caviar is one of the few companies striving to show that gold or gilded products can be both symbols of wealth and art pieces.
Just take a look at their most recent product, a solid gold PlayStation 5. Most people still can’t get a regular PS5 because of high demand, but five lucky individuals will get theirs in 18K yellow gold. To be clear, the Caviar Sony PlayStation 5 Prime Gold replaces the outer plastic casing of the console with one made of real gold, embossed with an ornate pattern that’s meant to create a “mesmerizing play of light and shadow.”
Photo: Caviar
The Caviar PS5 is part of the collection Prime Collection Total Gold, which also includes the iPhone 13 Pro Max, iPad Mini, and AirPods Max with matching embossed gold cases. Just in case you want a full set of matching gadgets.
“Now a game console is not only a way to have a great time, but also an opportunity to decorate the interior with an exclusive gadget in a truly golden design,”Caviar says in the description of the product.
The console alone weighs 20 pounds (44 kg) due to all that gold, so you could probably use it in a worst-case scenario type of situation or to work on your fitness when not playing games. It sits on a custom ebony stand, and the controller matches the console in style, with soft embossed leather handles and contrasting embossed gold buttons with the Caviar logo.
The Russian company hints that further customization could be possible on the five units that will be made. However, as a warning, “when making an order or coordinating the design, please clarify with the manager how one or another type of the materials used in the design may influence the device’s functions.” In other words, you could get a very striking-looking PS5 that lacks certain functions from the PS5 that the peasants can buy.
The 18K Caviar PlayStation 5 costs $352,770, but Caviar is offering a cheaper, gold-plated version of the same that will retail at $12,750 and will be produced in 99 units. Deliveries start on December 15, which, with any luck, would mean someone could get their Christmas stocking filled with the flashiest, fanciest gadget out there.
Photo: Caviar
That said, this isn’t the first gold or gilded PS5, and it will probably not be the last, either. Caviar released an even more expensive version of it last year, the Caviar Sony Playstation 5 Golden Rock. Only nine of those were created, with the company receiving over 1,300 applications for it (including from one LeBron James), and each sold with a starting price of $499,000.
Also, in late 2020, custom jeweler Bobby White created a PS5 controller with precious gems and diamonds, and 24-carat gold leaf. Then, in March 2021, YouTuber MM7Games unboxed an £8,000 ($10,950) solid gold PS5 from Truly Exquisite with two controllers and headphones in matching style.
Gold customizing a game console is not that uncommon, after all. But it is costly nonetheless.
Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends. Full profile
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