is the Hermes Apple Watch a taste of new Watch faces to come ?

[aduteau]

Will the joint venture between Hermes and Apple open the door for other Big Watch Brands to make custom bands and watch faces ?

Maybe watchOS 3.0 will allow us for exemple, to buy a Tag Huer band that comes bundled with a special code to unlock and Tag Huer Watch Face to download to the watch, this code would be then tied to your app store account and would not be usable by anyone else.

This could end up being big for customizing the watch beyond just the bands ! And would bring onboard the big watch players.

What do you guys think ?

 

[JayLenochiniMac]

If anything, it'll come bundled like the Hermes. People wish they could just buy the band for their existing SS and download the face, but that's not likely to happen due to the Hermes-engraved case.

 

[zetaplus93]

It's definitely interesting to see. I could see other luxury brands like Coach and Tiffany and others get on board. Traditional watchmakers like Rolex, Omega, etc probably won't. Now there's also luxury brands like Chanel who are also known in the world of watches (I believe the J12)... not sure if they'll go this route.

 

[aduteau]

If anything, it'll come bundled like the Hermes. People wish they could just buy the band for their existing SS and download the face, but that's not likely to happen due to the Hermes-engraved case.

Why not make it none engraved for the future and just sell the bands as stand alone ?

 

[JayLenochiniMac]

Why not make it none engraved for the future and just sell the bands as stand alone ?

It doesn't really work that way in marketing. That's like selling only the body kits on AMG cars.

 

[Bagaholic]

Why not make it none engraved for the future and just sell the bands as stand alone ?

Well it's also because it's Hermès and if you know the company well enough, they care more about exclusivity and "affordable/convenience for the customer" is probably not in their dictionary.

Also, I don't think that collaborations with lower tier brands like Coach and Tiffany would surface anytime soon. Apple reached for the most prestigious and exclusive brand like Hermès for their first Apple Watch collaboration. It shows that Apple is going the ultra luxury route to make the Apple Watch more appealing the customers in the luxury market with more discretionary income.

 

[aduteau]

well this does show us one thing for sure ...
Apple wants tight control over watch faces ... sure there are going to be new one ... but I think this shows us that watch makers probably breathing down Apples neck to make sure NO ONE steals iconic watch faces from them, and this makes it difficult to open up new watch faces in an app store ... unless they put up very strict guide lines

 

[Mac 128]

Well it's also because it's Hermès and if you know the company well enough, they care more about exclusivity and "affordable/convenience for the customer" is probably not in their dictionary.

Also, I don't think that collaborations with lower tier brands like Coach and Tiffany would surface anytime soon. Apple reached for the most prestigious and exclusive brand like Hermès for their first Apple Watch collaboration. It shows that Apple is going the ultra luxury route to make the Apple Watch more appealing the customers in the luxury market with more discretionary income.

Yes that's exactly what Apple is doing. Hermes has absolutely nothing to do with that watch, so Apple slaps a pseudo skuemorphic face onto it, garishly branded "HERMES Paris", despite the fact Apple states quite clearly the face was designed by Apple in California. So not only is the face branded, but so is the case itself. Put on a Sport band, and a Tapping Mickey face, and just what contribution has Hermes made to the watch?

Despite Jony Ives' statements that Apple is not going after the Luxury market -- they clearly are, and even more blatantly than Huawei, Android or Samsung offerings with their skeumorphic offerings. I can't decide which is worse, ripping off a classic mechanical watch design, or doing and branding it as if the watch maker actually had something to do with the Watch.

 

[Bagaholic]

Yes that's exactly what Apple is doing. Hermes has absolutely nothing to do with that watch, so Apple slaps a pseudo skuemorphic face onto it, garishly branded "HERMES Paris", despite the fact Apple states quite clearly the face was designed by Apple in California. So not only is the face branded, but so is the case itself. Put on a Sport band, and a Tapping Mickey face, and just what contribution has Hermes made to the watch?

Despite Jony Ives' statements that Apple is not going after the Luxury market -- they clearly are, and even more blatantly than Huawei, Android or Samsung offerings with their skeumorphic offerings. I can't decide which is worse, ripping off a classic mechanical watch design, or doing and branding it as if the watch maker actually had something to do with the Watch.

LOL take a marketing class and you will get it. Please, I insist.

 

[JayLenochiniMac]

Despite Jony Ives' statements that Apple is not going after the Luxury market -- they clearly are, and even more blatantly than Huawei, Android or Samsung offerings with their skeumorphic offerings. I can't decide which is worse, ripping off a classic mechanical watch design, or doing and branding it as if the watch maker actually had something to do with the Watch.

He did make the remark that Switzerland is screwed, although he used a much stronger language. However, they don't actively need to go after it. Dropping several thousand dollars on a luxury mechanical that you won't wear on a daily basis like in the pre-AW days would be considered a bad buy.

 

[douglasf13]

Yes that's exactly what Apple is doing. Hermes has absolutely nothing to do with that watch, so Apple slaps a pseudo skuemorphic face onto it, garishly branded "HERMES Paris", despite the fact Apple states quite clearly the face was designed by Apple in California. So not only is the face branded, but so is the case itself. Put on a Sport band, and a Tapping Mickey face, and just what contribution has Hermes made to the watch?

Despite Jony Ives' statements that Apple is not going after the Luxury market -- they clearly are, and even more blatantly than Huawei, Android or Samsung offerings with their skeumorphic offerings. I can't decide which is worse, ripping off a classic mechanical watch design, or doing and branding it as if the watch maker actually had something to do with the Watch.

Designers work for each other all of the time. You'll have famous designers do special versions of Chuck Taylors, cameras, cars, etc. It's not much different than this Veyron. It's not as if everyone is saying Hermes built that Veyron. They just customized parts of it and put their logo on it.

 

[bh85]

Its a same watch with just a different band. Nothing special about it. Might as well slap a Rolex sticker and make it a special edition.

 

[LordQ]

Give me a Burberry Apple Watch right now!

 

[douglasf13]

Its a same watch with just a different band. Nothing special about it. Might as well slap a Rolex sticker and make it a special edition.

An interesting question is, how much do you really think it costs to make a $9K Rolex, once you remove marketing costs? From Rolex to Hermes, we're talking about Veblen goods. The higher price makes it more desirable.

To be honest, I'm surprised at the "reasonable" price of these Apple Hermes Editions. Have you seen how much Hermes leather goods cost? This costs $560:

 

[bh85]

An interesting question is, how much do you really think it costs to make a $9K Rolex, once you remove marketing costs? From Rolex to Hermes, we're talking about Veblen goods. The higher price makes it more desirable.

To be honest, I'm surprised at the "reasonable" price of these Apple Hermes Editions. Have you seen how much Hermes leather goods cost? This costs $560:

Must be Unicorn leather! I guess if you are a Celebrity or someone in fashion industry you might get it.

 

[douglasf13]

Must be Unicorn leather! I guess if you are a Celebrity or someone in fashion industry you might get it.

Whether it's a Hermes bracelet or Rolex watch, the cost of materials is a pittance of the total price. It's all about the design and name heritage. It's the same reason some spend millions on a painting (I wish I could, too.) You're paying for the name and the talent of the artist.

Don't underestimate what people are willing to spend on things they like. Women buy $3K handbags, men buy $9K watches, etc., while making average salaries. The same can be said of jet skis, boats, motorcycles, makeup, vacations, etc.

 

[iZac]

To be honest, I'm surprised at the "reasonable" price of these Apple Hermes Editions. Have you seen how much Hermes leather goods cost? This costs $560:

You're right, up until a few minutes ago I assumed that the Hermes offering was a "watch sold separately" affair.

Still stretches the meaning of "reasonable" though

 

[kupkakez]

I don't care for the double loop thing, but I love the idea of Apple partnering with these brands to bring us Apple Watches.

 

[kupkakez]

An interesting question is, how much do you really think it costs to make a $9K Rolex, once you remove marketing costs? From Rolex to Hermes, we're talking about Veblen goods. The higher price makes it more desirable.

To be honest, I'm surprised at the "reasonable" price of these Apple Hermes Editions. Have you seen how much Hermes leather goods cost? This costs $560:

I was also shocked at how "cheap" it was. A Birkin bag (starts around $10k and goes way up from there) is on my things to buy before I die list so I thought for sure this would cost much more than it does.

 

[douglasf13]

I was also shocked at how "cheap" it was. A Birkin bag (starts around $10k and goes way up from there) is on my things to buy before I die list so I thought for sure this would cost much more than it does.

Yeah, I'm surprised that the Hermes Apple Watch prices include the actual watch. I wouldn't have been shocked if the watch bands were $1,500 on their own.

 

[Rogifan]

He did make the remark that Switzerland is screwed, although he used a much stronger language. However, they don't actively need to go after it. Dropping several thousand dollars on a luxury mechanical that you won't wear on a daily basis like in the pre-AW days would be considered a bad buy.

When exactly did Ive say that? I know he was rumored to have said it but do we have confirmation he actually did? The only thing we have on record is Ive at that Condé Nast event saying Apple wasn't targeting luxury mechanical watches with Watch and didn't think they were in competition.

 

[douglasf13]

He did make the remark that Switzerland is screwed, although he used a much stronger language. However, they don't actively need to go after it. Dropping several thousand dollars on a luxury mechanical that you won't wear on a daily basis like in the pre-AW days would be considered a bad buy.

I'm not sure if he actually said that, but I agree with your point. I've paired my mechanical watch collection down to a few watches, including Omega and Rolex, but I like the Apple Watch enough, and feel confident enough wearing it, that I can't really seeing go back to those mechanicals. I'm currently planning on selling them, although I'll probably sit with that idea a while longer before going through with it, just to be sure.

 

[zetaplus93]

I'm not sure if he actually said that, but I agree with your point. I've paired my mechanical watch collection down to a few watches, including Omega and Rolex, but I like the Apple Watch enough, and feel confident enough wearing it, that I can't really seeing go back to those mechanicals. I'm currently planning on selling them, although I'll probably sit with that idea a while longer before going through with it, just to be sure.

I'm in the same boat. Initially I was rotating the mechanicals with the AW (with the mechanicals on the weekends and whatnot), but once I got the link bracelet, I've been wearing just the AW. The mechanicals gets about an hour a day right before bed, and also when I go swimming (never a better time to put on the divers!).

Might want to move on the rest of my mechanicals while the resell value is relatively high! But I'll wait a bit longer to see if I really won't go back to the mechanicals...

 

[Bagaholic]

The Hermès AW drops on the 5th of October in case anyone interested lol. I don't think Apple mentioned the exact date?

 

[douglasf13]

I'm in the same boat. Initially I was rotating the mechanicals with the AW (with the mechanicals on the weekends and whatnot), but once I got the link bracelet, I've been wearing just the AW. The mechanicals gets about an hour a day right before bed, and also when I go swimming (never a better time to put on the divers!).

Might want to move on the rest of my mechanicals while the resell value is relatively high! But I'll wait a bit longer to see if I really won't go back to the mechanicals...

No kidding. I originally bought the Sport Watch, thinking it would be worn occasionally, but then I quickly upgraded to the SS with the link bracelet. Now I'm wearing my mechanicals zero percent of the time. Even with the link bracelet, my Apple Watch's cost is so relatively low, compared to my mechanicals, that I'm wearing it everywhere without worry, including in water (granted, I do have Apple Care+.)

The thing that really blows me away is that I actually like the design with the bracelet, even compared to my mechanicals. It's a very retro-future, 2001: Space Odyssey vibe, which I like.