What’s The Big Deal About The Hermès?

I would say it's about fashion, then quality, and then status. An AW can never look as good as a mechanical watch. Mechanicals have so much more to work with . . . raised lettering, sunburst dial, enamel dial, etc. Apple's best attempt in closing the gap is with Hermes faces and Hermes bands. I foresee Apple never letting 3rd party developers sell AW faces. But I think Apple has not done a complete job of informing us on what we get with Hermes faces and what they look like. That's why there were so many questions as to what faces come with the Hermes AW. I'm pleasantly surprised the Hermes faces are good-looking. I wasn't planning on using them. Apple's discontinued leather bands with the simple buckle were quite good. They were thin, soft, and comfortable, but looked and felt a little plasticky. The Hermes bands are even softer, more comfortable, and snazzy looking. Too bad leather bands are not practical. You can't get them wet and I wouldn't want to wear them on a hot and humid day. I never heard of Hermes until the AW. And even now after 3 years I don't understand them. What do they do and what are they about? I've been in a Hermes store and of course they sell leather goods, but also clothes??, china??, and other various things. I don't feel their status or coolness like I do other products I know about. Maybe I'm very wrong, but I think most people don't know about Hermes and their status either, and are just buying Hermes AWs because they look good.

I think Apple in the beginning didn't know what to go after with the AW, so they did it all. Of course, they went after functionality, but they also tried out celebrity ambassadors for a bit and exclusivity with the Edition AWs (gold, ceramic). Now, it's mainly about health and fitness functionality with the aluminum and for the customers after looks too there's the SS and Hermes. I couldn't get a SS for Launch Day, so I decided to splurge and get an even better looking AW.
 
Some people buy $25 belts at Target, and others by $500 belts at Barney's. The latter is who Hermes caters to.

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anthonymoody said:
There are 3rd party bands that are nice. They do not hold a candle to the quality of the Hermes bands.

Just like Hondas do the same job as BMWs, no one would confuse the two, just as no one would confuse a BMW and a Bentley.
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Take a look at the arrow & board porter band and you might rethink that statement. I have some high end fashion pieces as well. Quality and construction/attention to detail is second to none. Same with some of these handmade leather bands I'm referencing.
 
nasa25 said:
it's funny people are paying like $500 plus for a Hermes strap.

I can get a handmade horween shell cordovan band (which I'm wearing right now) for $100.

Companies like E3, Arrow & Board, etc are putting out some amazing quality stuff.
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I bought a Arrow & Board band and I am really impressed with the quality. I wear it for daily use now.
 
Medicman67 said:
I bought a Arrow & Board band and I am really impressed with the quality. I wear it for daily use now.
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nice.

I'm rocking an E3 Shell cordovan color #8 band daily and I love it

That arrow & board porter medium brown will be mine before the year is up as well.
 
Luba said:
Why is this funny? You wanted to know the differences between Hermès and the regular SS. It’s not a big deal, but the Hermès version does provide an extra year of warranty.
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Apologies I misunderstood
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StumpyBloke said:
That doesn’t mean it’s a status symbol though
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Not to hijack my own thread. But a guy was commenting on watches. He mentioned his Rolex his statement was. To most people now days a Rolex isn’t a big deal. Unless you are around a bunch of watch officianados
[doublepost=1541100297][/doublepost]Thanks to all who responded it doesn’t make sense, but now I get it
 
The Hermes AW are the only ones that have a properly designed "analog" watch face for a rectangular case. if the AW had an always-on display, or if the Hermes AW-exclusive faces allowed for more complications, that might annoy me further. I was inclined to go with a Hermes AW a year ago because of the watch faces and band, but decided that I needed more complications and passed. You can always get the Hermes bands separately, although, as others have noted, you can now get really high quality bands for a fraction of the price. I love the Form Fit Function Button-Stud bands for the Apple watch. More comfortable than any other leather band I've used on any watch.
 
You’ll never hear anyone with a HAW complaining about it or wondering whether to get an aluminium or regular SS that’s for sure. I actually really enjoy owning a Hermes watch rather than an Apple Watch. Just like I enjoy wearing designer t shirts instead of target T-shirt’s or driving a European brand of car instead of a ‘Great Wall of China’ car. What makes any top brand a big deal?
 
davidec said:
You’ll never hear anyone with a HAW complaining about it or wondering whether to get an aluminium or regular SS that’s for sure. I actually really enjoy owning a Hermes watch rather than an Apple Watch. Just like I enjoy wearing designer t shirts instead of target T-shirt’s or driving a European brand of car instead of a ‘Great Wall of China’ car. What makes any top brand a big deal?
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Lol I’m not mad at ya if u got it like that awesome
 
maflynn said:
I saw someone selling a hermes band here at MR and it was identical to any other apple band, except for the price (of course) and the tiny little hermes logo on it. Like I said, you're getting an identical watch, the hermes doesn't do anything different (aside from a different watch face) but you're paying a premium
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It's certainly not identical -- nowhere close, in fact. That's not to say that other bands aren't nice, but Hermès is extraordinarily nice. That plus the style is what you're paying for.
 
bluespark said:
It's certainly not identical -- nowhere close, in fact. That's not to say that other bands aren't nice, but Hermès is extraordinarily nice. That plus the style is what you're paying for.
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I have to disagree
Just look at this for sale

This hermes band looks like any other apple sports band except for the logo
2018-11-02_13-08-11.png
 
It is pointless to argue whether the Hermes AW is worth it (or what's the big deal). The company makes beautiful, exclusive things, and there's nothing wrong with indulging oneself from time to time, including with the Hermes Apple Watch. Yes, functionally identical (as I would argue that the Hermes watch face has less functionality than most of the other watchfaces), but if you want the look and the watchbands (which are incredibly well made, but really, how well made do you need your watchband?), perfectly fine. But you can't rationalize the purchase based on value or functionality, but that goes for many, many purchases I suspect many who criticize the Hermes AW here make all the time.

My only real complaint is that the Apple Watch itself isn't timeless. At least through the S4, the leaps in capability and functionality have been such that I've been upgrading every year (which, itself, admittedly is a luxury). If the deal had been something like after the first Hermes AW, you can just buy a regular version the next 2-3 years but still have access to the Hermes faces (and still use the Hermes band, of course), I'd have been more tempted. But, then, the person who regularly shops at Hermes isn't going to care one whit about buying a new Hermes Apple Watch each year. You can, easily, drop more on a Hermes purse than you would on a good used car (and even some new ones). No purse, functionally, is worth that.
 
No more $10,000 Gold Edition.

No more Ceramic.

I guess Apple needed a fill in for the higher cost market. And they’ll probably sell a hell of a lot more Hermès than both of the former models combined.
 
Steve686 said:
No more $10,000 Gold Edition.

No more Ceramic.

I guess Apple needed a fill in for the higher cost market. And they’ll probably sell a hell of a lot more Hermès than both of the former models combined.
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The ceramic was way too expensive for a smart watch and simply because the consumer just wants something for basic fitness tracking and notifications, even though It had its benefits, it was way overpriced, not to mention how expensive Applecare is for that specific model.
 
JulesK said:
It is pointless to argue whether the Hermes AW is worth it (or what's the big deal). The company makes beautiful, exclusive things, and there's nothing wrong with indulging oneself from time to time, including with the Hermes Apple Watch. Yes, functionally identical (as I would argue that the Hermes watch face has less functionality than most of the other watchfaces), but if you want the look and the watchbands (which are incredibly well made, but really, how well made do you need your watchband?), perfectly fine. But you can't rationalize the purchase based on value or functionality, but that goes for many, many purchases I suspect many who criticize the Hermes AW here make all the time.

My only real complaint is that the Apple Watch itself isn't timeless. At least through the S4, the leaps in capability and functionality have been such that I've been upgrading every year (which, itself, admittedly is a luxury). If the deal had been something like after the first Hermes AW, you can just buy a regular version the next 2-3 years but still have access to the Hermes faces (and still use the Hermes band, of course), I'd have been more tempted. But, then, the person who regularly shops at Hermes isn't going to care one whit about buying a new Hermes Apple Watch each year. You can, easily, drop more on a Hermes purse than you would on a good used car (and even some new ones). No purse, functionally, is worth that.
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I think that is the conflict with the Hermès- we all know this is a disposable watch so why pay so much for it? I think there would be fewer people here criticizing it if the AW could last 20-30yrs like a good mechanical watch.

In the end, everybody has a different vice. I have friends who look at me and think I'm crazy for ordering the Hermès Apple Watch when they are constantly flipping cars, modifying cars. The depreciation on some of their purchases make my Hermès look like a fantastic deal. But hey, as long as you enjoy it, right?
 
faiseur de pluie said:
I think that is the conflict with the Hermès- we all know this is a disposable watch so why pay so much for it? I think there would be fewer people here criticizing it if the AW could last 20-30yrs like a good mechanical watch.

In the end, everybody has a different vice. I have friends who look at me and think I'm crazy for ordering the Hermès Apple Watch when they are constantly flipping cars, modifying cars. The depreciation on some of their purchases make my Hermès look like a fantastic deal. But hey, as long as you enjoy it, right?
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At least we’ve been able to transfer bands from model to model, at least so far.
 
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