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Images of Ultra-Rare Apple Watch Band Designed for Sir Jony Ive Surface Online

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Images of an Apple Watch band designed to celebrate former Apple design chief Sir Jony Ive's 50th birthday have emerged online, providing a look at what could be one of the rarest official Apple Watch bands ever made.

jony-ive-50-apple-watch-band.jpg

The images come from "Stella Fudge" on X (formerly Twitter), who claims that the unit is one of just ten prototypes made to test the unusual product before the finalized one was given to Ive with a 42mm Ceramic Apple Watch Series 2 "Edition" model in February 2017. The Apple Watch band itself is "Cloud" white and features a personalized "J50" monogram engraved on the ceramic pin in silver lettering. Ive departed Apple in June 2019 and now runs an independent design firm called LoveFrom.



While the Sport Band has been a ubiquitous style for the Apple Watch since its introduction in 2014, only some models feature engraved pins, such as the Apple Watch Hermès and Black Unity band. These are invisible when the band is worn on the wrist but provide a subtle indication of the model's special nature to the owner.

The white ceramic Apple Watch Series 2 was the first of its kind, expanding to a new gray version with the Series 3. While there was no ceramic Apple Watch Edition for Series 4 models, Apple revived the high-end white ceramic Edition model for the Series 5 in 2019 – the last time we've seen the material used on the device. The ceramic Apple Watch Edition was markedly cheaper than its 24K gold predecessor, but it remains one of the most striking and beloved casings ever offered by Apple.

Article Link: Images of Ultra-Rare Apple Watch Band Designed for Sir Jony Ive Surface Online
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2024/01/18/rare-apple-watch-band-designed-for-jony-ive/
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Honestly, I'm not sure I'd have wanted a product I designed as a birthday gift. We sell scientific gadgets and if someone bought me one of our science kits with my initials monogrammed, I'd be like "gee thanks, something different." Would be pretty sick of it by then.

Rare as hell, yes... I'd probably donate the watch to Apple's visitor center museum and they could put it in a glass case.
 
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Blackstick said:
Honestly, I'm not sure I'd have wanted a product I designed as a birthday gift. We sell scientific gadgets and if someone bought me one of our science kits with my initials monogrammed, I'd be like "gee thanks, something different." Would be pretty sick of it by then.

Rare as hell, yes... I'd probably donate the watch to Apple's visitor center museum and they could put it in a glass case.
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You don't work for Apple. I think it'd be pretty cool to get a unique/rare version of their products even if I did work for them.

It doesn't sound like it's a gift from all of Apple/Tim Cook. It could be something one of his close work mates did for him. If you worked for Apple and could make a custom part wouldn't you do it? It doesn't really matter that Johnny worked for Apple. I'm sure Johnny appreciated it.

To be honest I don't know what I'd buy for someone who could have pretty much anything they wanted. Presents don't need to be expensive or anything. It's enough for a small thoughtful gift.
 
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springsup said:
It’s like if you work at McDonald’s and for your 50th birthday, they give you a Big Mac with your name on the box
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You forget they write the name on the box by the one who has the best handwriting at the present moment.
 
Must have been just a small gesture gift. Given the wealth of both Apple and Ive, this was more about sentiment. Agree, the prototypes all belong behind glass in a history area. I'm sure Ive has his locked away along with other awards.
 
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Got to wonder with those expensive casings, why they didnt have a way to update the internal electronics. As for the gift, well, it's the thought that counts. Exclusivity is one sign of thoughtfulness. But as far as this needing to go into a museum because it's so rare? nope. I have a rare watchband too, I wrote my initials on it.
 
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Shows how much attention the “journalists” here pay attention to their own website.

I posted photos of this band over a year ago in your own forums. Keep up!
@Hartley

mikedop said:
42mm Apple Watch Series 2 White Ceramic "Jony Ive" Edition

This one-of-a-kind Apple Watch was intended as a 50th birthday gift to Jony Ive from the Apple engineering team and featured a specially engraved pin combining his initials, J and I, with the number 50. This band also uniquely features space black buttons on the underside of the connectors, unlike any retail version of the cloud sport band!

View attachment 2128978View attachment 2128981View attachment 2128983View attachment 2128986View attachment 2128984
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So it's a normal sport band with engraving on the pin that you can't see when it's buckled.

Wow. /s
 
bodhisattva said:
Must have been just a small gesture gift. Given the wealth of both Apple and Ive, this was more about sentiment. Agree, the prototypes all belong behind glass in a history area. I'm sure Ive has his locked away along with other awards.
Click to expand...

Sadly, people here will never understand that.

And instead leap to the conclusion Apple was (yet again) being cheap. Sadly, some things will never change or evolve.
 
The images come from "Stella Fudge" on X (formerly Twitter), who claims that the unit is one of just ten prototypes made to test the unusual product before the finalized one was given to Ive with a 42mm Ceramic Apple Watch Series 2 "Edition" model in February 2017.
Click to expand...
GED5YP3XwAAydCZ


The band is so thick. I'm guessing the finalized version was thinner than this prototype. Ive would not have been pleased. :p
 
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There is a custom among the industrial design team where they make bespoke presents for each others’ birthdays.

Some examples include a normal pen the exact dimensions of the Apple Pencil 1, ruler, kaleidoscope full of letters in the SF font, a loupe modeled after the loupe in the old Preview app icon.
 
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MacRumors said:
The white ceramic Apple Watch Series 2 was the first of its kind, expanding to a new gray version with the Series 3. While there was no ceramic Apple Watch Edition for Series 4 models, Apple revived the high-end white ceramic Edition model for the Series 5 in 2019 – the last time we've seen the material used on the device. The ceramic Apple Watch Edition was markedly cheaper than its 24K gold predecessor, but it remains one of the most striking and beloved casings ever offered by Apple.
Click to expand...
Just to clear any confusion…….

The ceramic casing is made with the same material toilet bowls are made of……..


(after all, it is ceramic)
 
Thank you, Jony. Not a day goes by without being amazed by the love for design and respect for the concepts you held. At this point in my life, I can confidently say I was fortunate to experience the wonders of design you created. Thank you, Jony
 
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