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Maybe but if you look at their history of collaborations, Hermes don't hang around. See link i posted before: https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/what-hermes-means-to-watch-collectors-apple-watch-hermes

Hermes has partnered up with plenty of iconic brands before (e.g. Rolex, Leica)...and their partnership is short-lived. Basically, they make one special edition.

I hope that you're right and that hermes makes an exception this time...but given their heritage (and they are themselves an icon), i doubt that we will see Hermes with Gen 2.

As an Apple fan, i am pretty sure that Apple need(ed) Hermes more than Hermes need Apple. Hermes is already the top dog in leather fashion & quality.

As I recall, they did say they would be "open" to another partnership. It would be nice if there were a follow-up. There is a wide range between the stainless steel link and the Edition, and the Hermes fills part of that.
 

Am I missing something? The single tour on its own is £270 compared to £1050 for the same thing including the watch on the Apple store. The Watch is worth about £480, so there is a discount of £300 right there. Or is that the amount you pay for a custom face these days?

Still pricey for 6" piece of leather.
 
Am I missing something? The single tour on its own is £270 compared to £1050 for the same thing including the watch on the Apple store. The Watch is worth about £480, so there is a discount of £300 right there. Or is that the amount you pay for a custom face these days?

Still pricey for 6" piece of leather.

Nope you have it bang on. £300 for the watch face and "hermès" on the back
 
<snip>
Who is discounting Hermes Watch??? Dude, where?! I want one! Show me please!

Hell, even the flawless "eBay criteria" that bmac4 uses cannot help you there! New Hermes AW on eBay is selling...wait for this...OVER LIST PRICE!!!

"What'chu talkin' 'bout, Willis?" :D

Here is the eBay listing of all Hermes AW 42mm as of 2/12/16: http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fro...+wat.TRS2&_nkw=apple+watch+hermes+42&_sacat=0

Lowest priced 42mm Hermes single tour is over $1300 (after shipping) from Australia! Most are well over $1400! (List price is $1150)

Where is this massive discounts you talking about on Hermes AW?

Please tell me that you have found a place that is selling these Hermes AW at huge discounts!!

<snip>

arf
 
Am I missing something? The single tour on its own is £270 compared to £1050 for the same thing including the watch on the Apple store. The Watch is worth about £480, so there is a discount of £300 right there. Or is that the amount you pay for a custom face these days?

Still pricey for 6" piece of leather.

Interesting. I thought people were saying this wouldn't happen. Wonder what's changed? Watches not selling well?

Wonder why this wasn't announced at the Spring event?
 
Interesting. I thought people were saying this wouldn't happen. Wonder what's changed? Watches not selling well?

Wonder why this wasn't announced at the Spring event?
Maybe. Or maybe Hermes wants to sell their bands separately for money? Plenty of people were buying knockoffs because they didn't want another watxh but wanted the bands?
 
Maybe. Or maybe Hermes wants to sell their bands separately for money? Plenty of people were buying knockoffs because they didn't want another watxh but wanted the bands?

My understanding is that Hermes doesn't sell any other watch bands separately for their other watches.
 
My understanding is that Hermes doesn't sell any other watch bands separately for their other watches.
No idea. This is a new market for them and if they are trying to make money, you offer more choices. Who knows. It's a good idea to try. I am sure they are making $150 or more per band. :)
 
My understanding is that Hermes doesn't sell any other watch bands separately for their other watches.

That's not true. They do sell bands separately for their other watches, but are quite reluctant to do so unless the customer is an existing Hermes owner and as such, they don't advertise them as being available to buy separately. You'd have to request it from a Hermes dealer.

This marks the first time that they're actually advertising AW-specific bands for purchase separately.
 
That's not true. They do sell bands separately for their other watches, but are quite reluctant to do so unless the customer is an existing Hermes owner and as such, they don't advertise them as being available to buy separately. You'd have to request it from a Hermes dealer.

This marks the first time that they're actually advertising AW-specific bands for purchase separately.

Well then that's a vastly different situation wouldn't you say? Back to my original question -- I wonder what's changed in this situation?
 
Well then that's a vastly different situation wouldn't you say? Back to my original question -- I wonder what's changed in this situation?

Could be that Apple Watch IS selling well...and that Hermes sees this as an advantage financially?
 
Well then that's a vastly different situation wouldn't you say? Back to my original question -- I wonder what's changed in this situation?

Yes, it's a different situation. Perhaps they're looking to increase their bottom line by tapping into existing AW customers who don't have the AW Hermes and merely want the band. Those customers would be unlikely to buy an AW Hermes if they already have an AW so they have nothing to lose from making them available.
 
Yes, it's a different situation. Perhaps they're looking to increase their bottom line by tapping into existing AW customers who don't have the AW Hermes and merely want the band. Those customers would be unlikely to buy an AW Hermes if they already have an AW so they have nothing to lose from making them available.

Perhaps some good will and exclusivity with their own customer base.

For $300 less than the Watch|Hermes, someone can get basically the same thing now by purchasing a regular Watch and Hermes band separately, with a second watch band!
 
What really has happened is Hermes have thought, hang on, Apple are making about £500 premium from the Hermes Apple Watch off the back of our brand, whilst we are only making £100 profit. If we sell our own brands we can double that. Plus the market is instantly 1000 times bigger.
 
What would be nice is for Apple to drop the price down to $999 since it's a similar price to buying the pieces separate. They still are charging a premium for the watch faces, but makes it feel less like a ripoff.
 
Interesting. I thought people were saying this wouldn't happen. Wonder what's changed? Watches not selling well?

Wonder why this wasn't announced at the Spring event?
I think the watches are selling reasonably well (for a smartwatch; these aren't selling in iPhone numbers) but I doubt the Hermes version is moving too many units. To my knowledge I've never seen one in real-life, yet I've seen all kinds of other Apple watches, including the pricey link bracelet models (not including my own).
 
I think the watches are selling reasonably well (for a smartwatch; these aren't selling in iPhone numbers) but I doubt the Hermes version is moving too many units. To my knowledge I've never seen one in real-life, yet I've seen all kinds of other Apple watches, including the pricey link bracelet models (not including my own).
I have to agree. I didn't see the value of the extra cost just for the band and a watxh face. It probably hasn't sold that many and now buying the bands separately is just another option for them to make a profit as bands seem to sell well. I ordered the new gray classic buckle and it was 2-3 weeks. Now that same band is 4-6 weeks. It's a good move I suppose for Hermes but I won't buy one.
 
I think the watches are selling reasonably well (for a smartwatch; these aren't selling in iPhone numbers) but I doubt the Hermes version is moving too many units. To my knowledge I've never seen one in real-life, yet I've seen all kinds of other Apple watches, including the pricey link bracelet models (not including my own).

I have to agree. I didn't see the value of the extra cost just for the band and a watxh face. It probably hasn't sold that many and now buying the bands separately is just another option for them to make a profit as bands seem to sell well. I ordered the new gray classic buckle and it was 2-3 weeks. Now that same band is 4-6 weeks. It's a good move I suppose for Hermes but I won't buy one.

I've had grocery store workers recognize my Apple Watch as the Hermes, so I'm guessing that enough of them are out there. Remember until recently you couldn't even buy the packaged set online. I doubt Hermes expected to sell huge volumes, but wonder whether the plan all along was to test the waters and expand availability if it sold decently enough. It's not as if this is a fire sale to dump inventory. They are making new colors available, though they are also streamlining the packaged sets down to the classic Fauve Barenia. My guess is that they didn't want it announced at the Spring event.
 
I think it's a byproduct of wanting to keep existing Apple Watch Hérmes customers in sync with the spring collection that Apple launched a couple of weeks ago. There's a good argument to be made that there's a customer base that wants a new band color for their Hérmes watch but only wants to buy Hérmes leather bands. Could also be a chance for customers to "upgrade" their stainless steel watch with a nicer band compared to the already good Apple leather bands. For the people who can tell the difference and think it's worth the extra cost, then why charge more money?
 
I think it's a byproduct of wanting to keep existing Apple Watch Hérmes customers in sync with the spring collection that Apple launched a couple of weeks ago. There's a good argument to be made that there's a customer base that wants a new band color for their Hérmes watch but only wants to buy Hérmes leather bands. Could also be a chance for customers to "upgrade" their stainless steel watch with a nicer band compared to the already good Apple leather bands. For the people who can tell the difference and think it's worth the extra cost, then why charge more money?

I have to admit, I'ma bit surprised that Apple/Hermes did this at this particular juncture, since they just released iOS 9.3 which enabled multiple watch pairings with the same device.

I had long wondered about a Hermes watch customer who bough the Single Tour but also wanting the Double Tour or cuff, and whether they would have to buy a whole new watch. And when I heard Apple was bringing the multiple watch pairing option to iOS 9.3, then that model actually started making sense -- a Hermes customer would have to buy the entire watch with the band they wanted, which was actually a pretty good deal considering the usual cost of Hermes leather goods. And multiple pairings would make that possible; well it was already possible, so practical.

But this pulls the rug out from under that scenario. And I'm really surprised they didn't market that aspect for a while before offering the bands by themselves, at a substantial discount to boot. But I guess it's Spring, and that's when the new fashions arrive.

Really is Apple wanted to exploit the 9.3 multiple pairing to boost multi[ple sales, they should have had that implemented before the holidays to encourage gifts of multiple Watches for those who already had one.
 
I've had grocery store workers recognize my Apple Watch as the Hermes, so I'm guessing that enough of them are out there.

It doesn't mean enough of them are out there as they could simply be Apple fans. Likewise, most of us would be able to recognize an Edition (due to the color-capped crown) even though the vast majority of us have never seen one in the wild.
 
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