When a camera can tell more than a thousand pictures.

 

Manufacturers of photography equipment seek to satisfy the demands of all categories of consumers and produce cameras of different price ranges. Cameras covered with gold have been made especially for people with an exquisite taste and a thick wallet. These cameras can be distinguished by the limited offering, its original design and high price.

 

View our selection of unique gold cameras.

Pentax LX Gold

Manufactured in: 1981

Units produced: 300

Materials used: 18K gold, brown patent leather

Price: at the time of the launch — around $3,700-3,800, considering inflation, the current price is $13,700

 

The camera’s launch was timed to coincide with the 10-millionth camera release by the Japanese manufacturer Asahi Optical. The capital letters “LX” in the model series indicate the number 60, written in Roman numerals, and symbolize the company’s sixtieth anniversary.

In the photo: Pentax LX Gold is an exclusive camera. Many collectors dream to have one mainly because of its inaccessibility.

 

Nikon DF Gold

Manufactured in: 2014

Units produced: 77

Materials used: 24K gold, natural stingray skin

Price: at the time of the launch — $41,395, current price on the manufacturer’s website — $57,995 

 

For connoisseurs of gold and austere design of the Japanese manufacturer Nikon, Brikk released a luxurious camera decorated with the precious metal. The camera’s set comes with a gold lens and a case.

In the photo: Nikon DF Gold is a gold-plated Nikon DF camera — a camera that had been voted as the best camera in the premium class segment by the Technical Image Press Association back in the day.

 

Linhof Master Technika 9×12/4×5 Gold Edition 100 Jahre 1887-1987

Manufactured in: 1987

Units produced: 100

Materials used: gold, matte leather (bellows)

Price: $7,284 (HK$56,640) at an auction in 2013 — equivalent to about $10,130 as of of today.

 

For its centennial anniversary, the Bavarian company Linhof released a unique series of cameras designed for discerning connoisseurs of large-format photography. The high modularity originally built into the classic Master Technika model, on which this anniversary edition was based, and its focus on a high degree of user customization have resulted in a wide variety of configurations and states of preservation appearing on the secondary market.

 

In the photo: Linhof Master Technika 4×5 Gold Edition 100 Jahre 1887-1987 camera by the Munich brand Linhof, a well-respected manufacturer of professional photography equipment.

 

Leica M3 Gold

Manufactured in: 1956

Units produced: limited edition (only two M3 units gold-plated by the manufacturer confirmed to have been made: serial numbers 834000 and 873000)

Materials used: gold, dark brown embossed leather

Price: nearly $488,000 (at the 2012 auction) — equivalent to $688,000 today

 

Leica — a legend among the manufacturer of photography equipment and an undisputed authority in the production of very expensive and limited edition cameras.

The exterior of the exclusive gold camera model Leica M3 is encrusted with the precious metal, but that’s not all, the lens cap and the light meter are gold-encrusted too.

In the photo: Leica M3 Gold is the camera of the world famous German brand, which is highly regarded among professionals for its technical characteristics and aesthetic design.

 

Leica Luxus I(c)/III(F) (serial number 55493)

Manufactured in:1931 (last modernization — 1933)

Units produced: single conversion of a serial I(c) by the manufacturer with subsequent upgrades to II and III(F) respectively, and gilding

Materials used: gold plates, red skin of an exotic lizard

Price: $683,000 (€528,000 at an auction in 2013), corrected for inflation — about $950,000 today.

 

Yet another creation of the German brand Leica tops our list of exclusive gold cameras.

A 1931 Leica Luxus No. 55493 camera was exhibited at the Viennese auction WestLicht in 2013. In addition to the camera, two gold lenses were also included. The price of the exhibited lot was 3,5 times higher than the initial selling price.

In the photo: the 1931 Luxus Leica No. 55493 vintage model is one of the most expensive and rarest gold cameras in the world.

 

Perhaps any photograph taken with one of these cameras would instantly become truly special — and the photographer would almost certainly want to leave a bold signature on such a print.

Find out which writing instruments are worthy of signing a newly created masterpiece in our article “Top 5 most expensive gold pens”.

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