Hermes was the Greek god of commerce, famed for his trickery of the other gods in order to save humans or sometimes just fun. Many years later, luxury designer brand Hermes have partnered with Apple to release a Hermes Apple Watch and they are certainly not tricking anybody. The luxury watch is billed by both companies as a unique timepiece designed with style and sophistication in mind. The wearables market in recent times has gone from strength to strength and with that in mind, Hermes and Apple have aimed at capitalizing on this growing and exciting market by releasing the Hermes Apple Watch. The watch goes on sale on Friday to the general public and is expected to be a huge success amongst the fans of both Apple and Hermes.
What feature does it have?
When Apple released their original watch, it was aimed at Apple enthusiasts and challenging an exciting new market. It became Apple’s first new product category in 5 years and heralded a new age of wearable technologies. The watch proved to be a huge success and despite some concerns about battery life it became the must-have product for anybody wearing a smartwatch. The watch integrates seamlessly with your other Apple devices and offers great screen quality and functionality compared to any other device available. The first issue with the original watch was that whilst it was an industry changing piece of gadgetry, industry not world, and it raised the bar for other makers of wearables, it had some slight issues. The first issue was battery life. Apple made a boastful claim that the watch could last a full day without need for recharge however some reviewers have claimed that a full day’s constant use is unfortunately not an option. It is hoped that the Hermes version has challenged this with improved battery life and a whole day using the watch intensively is now not a problem. The Hermes Apple Watch will set you back a pretty lofty 1100USD which is about 4 times what you can expect to pay for the standard model. Whilst this does seem a lot of money, the luxury brand has a standard set of watches, un-tech watches that cost far more and do far less, although admittedly they don’t need charging.
What’s new about Hermes Apple Watch?
With a fairly hefty price tag, the Hermes version of the Apple Watch is aimed at the luxury consumers who concentrate on quality not quantity. The Hermes version has many features that stand out against the basic version. For starters, the watches a gorgeous leather strap that wraps twice around the wrist to give effortless comfort and easy style. Secondly, the metal encased screen can be personally engraved with whatever you wish meaning this could be a great gift for a loved one; although given the price you would have to love them an awful lot. Amid much fanfare, the most exciting new feature is the customizable screen face that is not available on any other model. First and foremost this guards against fraudsters attempting to create replicas as often happens in the luxury world. When announced, it was thought that Apple would allow Hermes to create their own personalised clock face and leave it at that. Hermes however went one step further and made their very own interchangeable version that allows for 3 completely different faces. It has different options for typefaces and even 3 different fonts to spice things up. With any option you choose however, the watch does not look out of place alongside Hermes range of un-tech watches. The fact that you can customize the face is an amazing feature and the first time Apple has worked with another company and allowed this to work, and it has worked extremely well by all accounts.
Does it justify the price tag?
Does any piece of designer wear deserve the price tag they often herald? This watch will not be everybody’s cup of tea but this watch is not designed for everybody. Those who can afford will certainly not be disappointed with the features. It seems that Apple are trying to make wearables cool instead of geeky and with this fantastic watch they have certainly succeeded. The watch is fairly expensive but the target audience is probably not those who would be concerned by the price. The watch is expected to be a success and surely it is only a matter of time before other designer brands and labels partner with Apple, or other gadget makers to push the wearables market even further. The product will be available on Apple’s own site and also the Hermes site.
