S3 (non LTE) alu colors.. help!

[KarinvdB]

So I'm about to get my first Apple Watch. I'm in the Netherlands and there's no LTE models here (I don't mind, and I don't like the red dot anyway) so I'm limited to the aluminium colors.

I haven't seen them in real life yet and that will probably be the deciding factor. We're headed to the Apple Store on Sunday.

My first thought was that I would go for the space grey. I'm not sure why, it's just what I thought I should get. Then I went into Apple's mix and match thing to see it with different bands and I saw the SG with the silverish connectors of the leather bands and I started doubting the SG. I'm not planning on getting Apple brand bands apart from probably the Berry Stripe Nylon (goes perfectly with my glasses ), but I would like to be able to combine it with some third party leather bands.

So I figured silver would be more versatile, and I liked the look of it combined with other bands more.

Yesterday I was looking at monowear bands. I love the dark red leather they have, although the SG version they have I think is really stunning, I still thought I would go with the silver. Then I found a video reviewing the monowear bands, I wanted to make sure that it was really that dark red color they show on the website, and that was the case but then I saw the silver alu in the video and I cringed. It seemed so cheap looking. So then I started thinking about the SG again. But then the berry stripe nylon seems to have an alu silver clasp....

And to top it off, I'm thinking of getting a 8Plus in the new gold in a few months, so then the gold watch started coming up in my head. But I can hardly find any real life pics of it and I'm worried it won't look good with other bands.

In other words I'm driving myself nutters.

It will probably come down to my gut feeling when I see them in real life but I want to make a future proof decision. Any advice/thoughts? Anyone seen the new gold alu color? What do you think?

 

[44267547]

Silver aluminum. Pairing bands is nearly endless, as almost any band will pair over the space gray or Gold aluminum.

 

[Nell]

I have the silver aluminium watch and really like it; it works well with pretty much any strap (although I mostly use sports bands, I do have a Milanese Koop which looks great with it and is my go to choice when I want to look a bit less casual).

 

[allthingsapple!]

I’m curious about this too. I’ve been wanting to purchase as well but not sure what color to get. I heard the space grey shows scratches the easiest though.

 

[KarinvdB]

Went to an Apple reseller yesterday. Unfortunately they only had two watches on display. The 42 SG and 38 Nike Silver aluminum. But the silver was not at all bad looking in person. Looks like the supply of S3 watches in the Apple store is good at the moment so we’ll just go and look and decide on the spot, think I’ll probably go with silver.

I also saw the iPhone 8+ in gold and it looks really nice. I also found a 2 in 1 wallet that goes with it incredibly well (decoded rose color). I think I can get over the idea of not matching the phone with the watch. The watch needs to go with an outfit, for the phone that’s less of a thing (for me anyway).

 

[JagSmith]

I can tell you the new series 3 gold is a lot different than the series 2 gold . It is very pretty, but also very close to rose gold. In other words, it's more pink than gold. It does look different in different lighting, though, which really makes it tough to match with bands and other jewelry. If money was not an issue, I'd buy it and the silver aluminum. But....since I can't buy both, I'll probably end up getting the silver. I'm very disappointed that they changed the gold color.

 

[allthingsapple!]

I can tell you the new series 3 gold is a lot different than the series 2 gold . It is very pretty, but also very close to rose gold. In other words, it's more pink than gold. It does look different in different lighting, though, which really makes it tough to match with bands and other jewelry. If money was not an issue, I'd buy it and the silver aluminum. But....since I can't buy both, I'll probably end up getting the silver. I'm very disappointed that they changed the gold color.

Can I ask why you prefer the silver over the space gray? I'm just curious as I am having a tough time deciding on a color.

 

[44267547]

Can I ask why you prefer the silver over the space gray? I'm just curious as I am having a tough time deciding on a color.

Just my opinion, silver will be much easier to pair bands with and will look more formal in the sense of what we see with existing Watch casings colors. The space gray is more sleek and stealthy looking, but I feel only so many bands will pair with it.

 

[JagSmith]

Can I ask why you prefer the silver over the space gray? I'm just curious as I am having a tough time deciding on a color.

Just my opinion, silver will be much easier to pair bands with and will look more formal in the sense of what we see with existing Watch casings colors. The space gray is more sleek and stealthy looking, but I feel only so many bands will pair with it.

Can I ask why you prefer the silver over the space gray? I'm just curious as I am having a tough time deciding on a color.

Well.....the watch I own is the very first series and it is silver aluminum. I thought it would be a great time to upgrade and possibly change colors. I actually bought the new gold series 3 thinking it would match better with my wedding rings. I didn't realize it would be a different gold than the series 2. I wore it for a couple of weeks, trying to decide if I liked it enough to keep it, but it didn't look good with any of the bands I already have, so I returned it. I've thought about getting the space gray, but just don't think I'd like it as well. I'm still undecided, though. I never thought I'd have this much of a struggle, but as I've been reading, apparently I'm not the only one, which makes me feel better, although still confused. Lol. Ugh!!! If only they had not changed the gold color, I'd be set, happy, and content.

 

[allthingsapple!]

Well.....the watch I own is the very first series and it is silver aluminum. I thought it would be a great time to upgrade and possibly change colors. I actually bought the new gold series 3 thinking it would match better with my wedding rings. I didn't realize it would be a different gold than the series 2. I wore it for a couple of weeks, trying to decide if I liked it enough to keep it, but it didn't look good with any of the bands I already have, so I returned it. I've thought about getting the space gray, but just don't think I'd like it as well. I'm still undecided, though. I never thought I'd have this much of a struggle, but as I've been reading, apparently I'm not the only one, which makes me feel better, although still confused. Lol. Ugh!!! If only they had not changed the gold color, I'd be set, happy, and content.

Lol you definitely aren’t the only one!
[doublepost=1508238558][/doublepost]

Just my opinion, silver will be much easier to pair bands with and will look more formal in the sense of what we see with existing Watch casings colors. The space gray is more sleek and stealthy looking, but I feel only so many bands will pair with it.

Ahh okay makes sense! I must be the only one who thinks black matches with basically everything? Lol because you’re not the first person to tell me that which is why I was curious about your perspective as well.

 

[KarinvdB]

Lol you definitely aren’t the only one!
[doublepost=1508238558][/doublepost]

Ahh okay makes sense! I must be the only one who thinks black matches with basically everything? Lol because you’re not the first person to tell me that which is why I was curious about your perspective as well.

I was all set to get the space gray until I went through the watch configurator on the Apple site and saw it paired with bands with silver lugs. That’s when I felt the silver would pair better.

Some people have pointed out it looks kind of cheap and I must say that yeah, the silver aluminum doesn’t look amazingly classy. It’s the same silver as my iPhone 6 and MacBook, but somehow the watch looks a bit different, maybe because it’s quite thick. The space gray looks more classy to some. I haven’t seen the stainless steel versions (right now there are only aluminum versions for sale here) but if you have trouble with that silver the space gray will be the way to go. I’m sure it will team with lots of bands, and quite a few third party band sellers offer matching lugs.

All in all even though I do see the “cheap” factor of the silver aluminum, especially when looked at from the side, I’m quite happy with mine. I still think it’s the best choice for me personally.

 

[JagSmith]

I'm still "on the fence" about what color to get. Does anyone have the new gold series 3? What's your opinion? What bands look the best with it?

 

[44267547]

I'm still "on the fence" about what color to get. Does anyone have the new gold series 3? What's your opinion? What bands look the best with it?

The new gold Series 3 is more of a muted tone. You could easily pair brown or black leather bands and sport bands.

 

[naturalstar]

I’d recommend the silver aluminum as well. You will easily find the most band options without worrying about the lugs not matching. I’ve also played with the Apple bands in the store with the silver aluminum version and found that the Milanese and the leather bands do look nice with that color. Once you start looking at third party options, there are even more to choose from.

Just a side note, be aware that many of the sport bands and nylon bands match the band itself and not the watch, so if you choose to wear those primarily, then it won’t matter as much.

Let me recommend something different for people on the fence, like I’ve been. Look at the bands available on the market that you know you would buy. Yeah, no sense in looking at anything out of budget or personal comfort, but look at bands you would buy and wear if you had a Watch right now. You’ll most likely come up with a majority that will lean you towards one color/type watch over the other. Kind of working your way backwards into a choice, if you will.

As for there not being many options for the space grey aluminum, I’ve come across plenty between visiting Amazon, eBay, and general Google searches. You’ll have to be more conscious when selecting, but choices exist. If it comes down to it, lugs are sold so you can match the watch itself, although keep in mind, your buckle probably wouldn’t.

Let me add that I am in the US, so I am not sure of the range of options in other countries. I’d still recommend what I stated above since you can only buy what you can regardless of location.

HTH.