Gold HTC One is 18kt. of ostentatious bling (photos)

We get up close and personal with the special-edition 18kt. gold HTC One.

Andrew Hoyle

Oct. 9, 2013 3:14 p.m. PT

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HTC has made five special-edition versions of its flagship One smartphone. Each one is plated in 18kt. gold and will be given as prizes to winners of the MOBO music awards.

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The gold is smelted by Goldgenie founder Laban Roomes.

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HTC reckons the phone is worth around £2,750, but seeing as only five exist and you can't buy one, they may as well be priceless.

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The front speaker grilles are gold, too. It was quite a challenge, HTC told me.

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It's so shiny that it can be used as an emergency mirror.

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The MOBO logo is laser-etched into the back of the phone.

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All five phones are currently being transported in these heavy-duty flight cases.

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HTC representatives were also escorted by security guards when walking out on the streets of London.

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The phone runs the same Sense software as the standard model -- there's no gold font or special version of BlinkFeed onboard.

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The gold hasn't changed the physical dimensions of the phone, and it's almost exactly the same weight.

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The 4-megapixel camera is still onboard. HTC reckons the pixels are physically bigger than normal in order to give better quality images. We certainly found it to do a pretty good job of capturing our parties.

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The front-facing camera remains the same as well. It's sadly unable to indicate that it's housed in a shockingly expensive gold version.

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There's only five available, but it's possible that HTC may make one or two more to give away as prizes. Keep your eyes on its social media channels in the coming weeks.