Yeah, I was pretty shocked to see an Edition on a woman by the pool in Hawaii a few months back. I haven't seen a Hermes in the wild.
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Who else plans to get the Apple Watch Hermès?
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Yeah, I was pretty shocked to see an Edition on a woman by the pool in Hawaii a few months back. I haven't seen a Hermes in the wild.
This makes the most sense to me.
Really, if I were going with the Hermès (or is it "Hérmes"?) AW in the first place, I don't think I'd be satisfied with the plain old Classic Buckle or Leather Loop. I'd want more Hêrmës straps instead.
It's Hermès. I don't think Hérmes make watch straps; if they do they can be found next to the unicorn leashes.
It's true that up until now, Hermes hadn't made watch bands for sale to the general public, but they do make and sell leather bracelets, such as this one.
http://usa.hermes.com/jewelry/leath...250|solr_object_type+1230|back_from_product+1
Not a huge leap from there to watch bands.
Great if that's what they are doing across the board, but it does dilute their exclusivity. It will be interesting to see if they do it for any of their other exclusive products.
However, the least they could have done is price them in relation to Apple's retail watch offerings, so as not to undercut their own exclusive co-branded product. Their customers don't care about paying an extra $100 here or there.
But ultimately, if that's what Hermes is doing, then why not announce them at the Apple event two weeks ago and get some free publicity, just like they did when Apple announced the co-brand initially?
Actually as you missed my point earlier, I'll continue along the same lines and see if you get it...
Hermes don't make any kind of leather products, although they may deliver them... Predominantly in Germany.
Not sure what you mean because leather-crafting is their claim to fame and they even own tanneries.
@BarracksSi asked as part of his post if it's Hermès or Hérmes. Hérmes does not exist as a company, and if I'm being pedantic in that way Hermes is a delivery company in Europe. Hermès make leather products.
Well, no wonder I was confused! I'd never heard of this delivery company until now.
Believe. There are plenty of us Hermès owners out there. I don't mind losing the exclusivity as much as I do being undercut. I'm surprised Apple didn't price these bands $200 than they did. They would still be steals at that price.
Oops. Don't tell my high school French teacher that I still mess up my accent marks.
I just realized that Apple intends to sell these bands directly, likely on their website. So I'm even more perplexed as to why they wouldn't announce something like this at their Spring event.
Not only can any Watch customer buy a Hermes band from anywhere in the world, without going into a Hermes boutique, ANYONE can buy a Hermes band whether they own a Hermes watch or not. They're very easy to remove from the lugs and are likely a fairly standard size for most existing watches.
In one fell move they've opened up Hermes closed shop, once exclusive to Hermes customers only, to anyone willing to pay ... a fairly reasonable price, as you point out. Apple seems to be lowering the Hermes brand cache.
I don't believe this for a second. Hermès has realized they can make a lot of money selling just the band. I am sure they will have limited quantities for each band. This for them is just to expand their name. Does not make them any less exclusive.
Whomever said it was to match the sprig lineup that Apple has out now is probably right. Can't help price drops but I suppose I would be mad if I bought the Hermes watch.
Apple will be selling these bands worldwide on their website. I predict they will not run out of these bands until they decide to stop selling them.
So Hermes has compromised their integrity for profit. No problem. I'm sure it's a struggle for Hermes to expand their brand ... I mean who's ever hear of them? /s
If you're right, I just wonder why they didn't figure this out years ago when demand for their leather goods surely extended to those customers who appreciated their quality but did not care for their timepieces? Think of all the money they could have been making just selling the bands for their watches separately ... and yet they didn't.
Good thing Apple came along to wake them up to all the money they have been losing, not to mention finally getting their name out there for people to finally recognize their brand after all these decades shrouded in obscurity. /s
I have to admit, I was never really interested in Hermes until I heard of the Apple Hermes watch. I kind of knew about their scarves, but i just never paid much attention to them. But when the Apple Hermes was announced, I went to the Hermes store to try them, and got a look at their saddle -- I don't have a horse, but I want that saddle!
I am not saying Apple made them so much bigger then they were before, but I have to say I did not know much about them before the Apple Hermès. I just think they see way more money in the bands alone.
Hermès has updated their website for the Single Tour bands and they are all showing $690 besides the deer brown and black ones which still show $340. The $340 pricing could be a mistake since you can't order it currently from their website. I guess we'll find out for sure on the 19th when they are available to purchase on Apple's website.
That is the strap I took the screenshot of. Look at the top under the picture of the band. It says 42mm.