Apple Partners with Hermès for Couture Watch Collection
On Wednesday, Apple staged one if its yearly events where the tech giant reveals the latest crop of iPads, iPhones and other mobile devices that will go on sale in time for the holiday shopping season. Unlike the 2014 event, this one did not have the drama of a new Apple Watch but there was one tidbit of interest for fashion-minded Apple fans that failed to find the first versions of the smartwatch trendy enough for their tastes.
Apple showed off the results of the company’s partnership with the legendary French fashion house Hermès, dubbed the Apple Watch Hermès collection. This exclusive line of watches sports hand-crafted leather bands and new dial designs that draw their inspiration from classic Hermès watches.
Predictably, these designer smartwatches don’t come cheap. The Single Tour, an Apple Watch with 38mm case and single leather band, is $1,100. $1,150 will get you the single band with a 42mm case. The Double Tour band, an Hermès signature model, is $1,250 with a 38mm case. The leather cuff with 42mm case is priced at $1,500. The Cuff is especially eye-catching with an Apple Watch embedded in the center of a wide leather cuff of fauve Barenia leather.
The models displayed at the Apple event had fauve (tan) leather bands but other colors will be available. The Double Tour will come in capucine, bleu jean, étain and fauve.
While the regular Apple Watch is now available at most Apple retail locations as well as Best Buy stores, the Apple Watch Hermès collection will be exclusive to a chosen few boutiques. The short list of stores where customers can buy the Apple Watch Hermès collection when it goes on sale next month includes a dozen Apple stores in Los Angeles, New York, Miami, San Francisco, London and Toronto plus a handful of Hermès boutiques and Maxfield in L.A.
