Paris

Yesterday the Apple Watch made its first public appearance. Timed to coincide with Paris Fashion Week, the device went on display for 1 day only at the high-end Parisian boutique Colette. By utilizing the iconic fashion event as the setting to show off the watch, it is becoming clear that Apple is treating its watch more as a fashion accessory and less as a piece of consumer electronics.  This is also supported by the fact Apple chose to display the watch at Colette instead of either of its 2 Apple Stores in Paris. Since its announcement, the company has tried to get the watch in front of fashion editors, designers, and popular horology blogs. Apple even showed the watch off to Vogue weeks before the public introduction. Additionally, the rumored pricing of potentially up to $5000 seems to place it squarely in the realm of jewelry instead of gadget. This is a very different approach from the rest of the wearable tech industry.  For a culture that has become accustomed to replacing their phones every 12-24 months, it will be interesting to see how people respond to this different way of thinking about an electronic.