Apple has announced that for the first time Hermès Apple Watch bands will be available as a separate purchase. Previously if you wanted the leather bands from the French design house, you had to purchase the Hermès Edition Watch, the cheapest version of which was $1,100. All three styles of band are available as a stand-alone purchase. The least expensive option is the Single Tour band (think – regular watch band) which retails for $340 and is available in 38mm and 42mm sizing. The next step up is the Double Tour, designed to wrap around your wrist twice, for $490 (38mm only). Finally, the most expensive option is the cuff band for the 42mm Apple Watch; it lists for $690! To mark the occasion, Hermès has also updated the colors offered. Besides the signature Fauve color (tan), they have added Feu (fire), Bleu Saphir (dark blue), Bleu Paon (peacock blue – 38mm only), and blanc (white – 38mm only). The new bands go on sale April 19th and will continue to only be available online, at select Apple Stores, and at Hermès boutiques.
We are actually pretty excited to see the designer Apple Watch bands go on sale separately. Hopefully this is a move that will encourage other designers to release official bands for the Apple Watch. With Apple reporting that 1/3 of Apple Watch owners regularly change their bands, there is a market. As for the Hermès bands, while they aren’t cheap (the least expensive option is more than Apple Watch Sport), they do offer a better deal purchased separately from the watch versus as a set. For $549 you can purchase a stainless steel Apple Watch with a Sport band and then buy a $340 Hermès band. This would result in a $889 Hermès Apple Watch, versus $1,100 for the Hermès Edition, and you would end up with an additional Sport band. The only loss to doing that are the Hermès watch faces, which while nice are likely not worth $211 to most people. If you are still wrapping your head around how watch straps can cost up to $690, check out this look into what goes into making an Hermès watch band.
