Koetsu Urushi Cartridges - Differences?


I have figured out that I want to upgrade my cartridge, at some point, to the Koetsu Urushi.
However, there are three different Koetsu Urushi cartridges available:

The Black, The Gold,and The Vermillion.
(Sounds like a spaghetti western movie, huh?!)

Does anybody know if these sound different from each other?

I appears that Koetsu decided to make three different versions of the exact same cartridge for some reason. (I have heard a rumor that the Vermillion sounds slightly better, but that is unconfirmed.) It seems odd that this is the only cartridge in the entire Koetsu line that offers this option.

Any thoughts?

Thanks for any input you can offer.
kurt_tank
A further question regarding Kurt_tank's post...I have heard that the older models of Koetsu cartridges are sought out by audiophiles. Are these actually better performers, having superior construction and fidelity , or is this just part of the audiophile mystique? Comments, please?
The urushi is made from a rosewood body and coated with a lacquer derived from tree sap. It is an ancient japanese art form and is also used to decorate pens, etc.

Sonically, all three urushi's are identical, differing only in the type of lacquer used.
Gold-gold with gold flakes(the most expensive to produce)
Black- black lacquer base with gold flakes(my favorite)
Red-solid red lacquer

The urushi is sonically at the top of the non-platinum magnet Koetsu's (black,rosewood,rosewood signiture). You can at some latter date have a urushi rebuilt with the innards of any of the platinum magnet models however the output drops from 0.6 to 0.2mv thus your phono stage has to be up to the challange.

I have never heard an old koetsu so I can't comment.
Kurt_tank, this link should help answer your question:

http://pachome2.pacific.net.sg/~angmelvin/Range.html

Fatparrot, the rosewood body is said to sound sweeter with age. That is why many prefer a re-build to a new one. Here is another link that covers re-building:

http://pachome2.pacific.net.sg/~angmelvin/Rebuild.html

Hopefully this helps some.

Regards,
John