The gold color is worth the $50 extra! No, I couldn't tell the difference betwen them at the store. To bad a guy couldn't take something like that out and fish with it for a couple of days before he bought it. I've been thinking about gettig a Chronarch too,but I prefer left hand reels so the super free Cronarch is not an option for me. Anyway, where did you find the $179 price? All I have seen are $195.