24K Gold, Rose Gold or Platinum: Choosing an iPhone Finish
Three finishes, three quite different results. Here is how to choose.
24K gold
The brightest and the most unmistakably gold. 24K is closer to pure than the 18ct used in most jewellery, so it reads warmer and more intense.
It is the finish most people picture when they think of a gold phone, and it is the one that photographs best. It is also the least subtle, which is either the point or the problem depending on what you want.
Rose gold
Warmer and pinker, from copper in the alloy. It reads as more understated than 24K — present rather than announced.
Rose gold suits people who want the material without the statement. It also sits well against darker clothing and against leather, if you use a case.
Platinum
Cool and silver-toned rather than yellow, applied as rhodium. The most discreet of the three — at a glance it looks like a very good steel finish, and only on closer inspection does it read as something else.
If you want precious metal without anyone across the table noticing, this is the one.
Compare all three on the 24K gold iPhone collection.
How each one wears
Honestly: much the same. All three are applied at 5 microns, and wear on a plated phone is a function of thickness and surface preparation, not of which metal sits on top.
Where they do differ is how wear looks. On 24K, a worn edge shows as a duller yellow. On platinum, it shows less, because the metal underneath is closer in tone. If you are hard on your phone, platinum hides the evidence better.
Surface finish, separately from colour
Colour is one decision; surface is another. A mirror finish is the brightest and shows handling marks most. Brushed and satin are more forgiving on a device you carry every day.
On a phone specifically, brushed is worth considering even if mirror is what you had in mind — a phone collects fingerprints in a way that a display piece does not.
Bespoke
Beyond the three standard finishes we work on bespoke variations, including combinations across different parts of the housing. Our Infinity edition pairs a plated housing with a solid 18ct gold, rose gold or platinum emblem and calf leather, which is a different idea again. If you have something specific in mind, describe it and we will tell you whether it can be done. Watch out our luxury iPhone Collection.
Which should you choose?
24K gold if you want it to be obviously gold, and you like that.
Rose gold if you want the material without the statement.
Platinum if you want it discreet, or you are hard on your phone.
There is no technically better answer among the three. It is a question of what you want people to notice.
Next step
Tell us the model and the finish and we will confirm price and timescale. Customising your own iPhone is a fixed price by model; buying one finished is priced on the product page. Both are explained on the luxury iPhone range.
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24K gold, rose gold and platinum applied as rhodium, plus bespoke variations, in mirror, brushed and satin surface finishes. All are applied at 5 microns.
All three last much the same. Durability comes from thickness and surface preparation rather than from which metal is on top.
No. The difference between them is colour, not longevity.
Platinum, because the metal beneath it is closer in tone, so a worn edge is less visible than it would be on 24K gold.
Platinum is offered as a precious-metal finish alongside 24K gold and rose gold, and is applied as rhodium. We confirm exactly what is applied to your device before any work begins.
Bespoke variations are possible, including combinations across different parts of the housing. Describe what you have in mind and we will confirm whether it can be done.
