Hands-off with millions of dollars worth of Product (RED) items designed by Apple's Jony Ive

A new Product (RED) cylindrical Mac Pro, golden EarPods, a one-of-a-kind Leica Digital Rangefinder Camera, and other products designed by Apple's Jony Ive are now on display in New York City ahead of a charity auction later this week. AppleInsider was on-hand Tuesday an exclusive up-close — Â but hands-off — look at the items that will be sold for a good cause.

The items chosen and curated by Ive, Apple's design chief, along with influential industrial designer Marc Newson will be auctioned off this Saturday to benefit The Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. They include a a one-of-a-kind Leica camera, a red next-generation Mac Pro, and gold-plated Apple EarPods, all of which are now on exhibition at Sotheby's New York.

While all 44 of the auction's lots were selected by Ive and Newson, many of the items were also subjected to further customization by the design duo. Ive's signature sleek aesthetic is in evidence with the deep red coloration of Apple's new cylindrical Mac Pro and the laser-machined aluminum chassis of a custom-designed Leica rangefinder, while Newson's more organic style influences a handmade aluminum desk and the bespoke display stand that holds a space shuttle window.

French fashion house HermÃ¨s and footwear designer Christian Louboutin contributed one-off pieces created under Ive and Newson's direction, and still more items — like Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni's iconic "Snoopy" lamp and Henning Koppel's "Pregnant Duck" pitcher — received red-tinted touches prescribed by the designers.

The auction, dubbed "Jony and Marc's (RED) Auction," is set to take place at 7 p.m. on Nov. 23 at Sotheby's New York. The pieces can be seen on exhibition each of the next four days from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m at the auction house's Upper East Side Manhattan location, on York Avenue near 71st street.

The full list of unique Product (RED) items that Ive is credited with having contributed to the design are:

Mac Pro
Gold Apple EarPods
2013 Range Rover

Dom Perignon Enotheque 1966 Magnum in Custom Red Cooler
Achille and Pier Giacomo Gastiglioni "Arco" Lamp
HermÃ¨s "Cavale" Saddle
Leica Digital Rangefinder Camera
Neil Fay Studio mosaic-patterned aluminum desk

U.S. Space Shuttle thermal window on custom stand designed by Ive and Newson
Steinway & Sons Unique "Red Pops for (RED)" Parlor Grand Model A Piano

More pictures from the upcoming auction are included below.

34 Comments

drblank 3384 comments · 18 Years

About 11 years ago

I know they are trying to pitch RED as some sort of worthwhile charity that Bono cooked up, but it's not that big of a deal to anodize aluminum in different colors. If someone REALLY wants a different color bad enough, you have to strip the unit down to the bare metal case, send it to a company that will strip the original anodizing and then do a different decorative coating, there's a lot of different kinds and colors to choose from, it's just more expensive in involved with finding what's available.