Blog Post Updated on January 2020

Once upon a time, Apple met Hermès at a Party….

Have you heard about the new Apple® Watch and its partnership with Hermès? I’m strangely excited about this ‘celebrity’ match and the creation of the Apple Watch Hermes!

You probably know about the Apple Watch and you probably have heard of Hermès, but the partnership is unique. I know that Apple sells Kate Spade phone covers, but there are not many ‘name’ fashion brands that Apple partners with. Yet, the fact that Apple partnered with Hermès for the watch makes sense. Sure, Apple could have partnered with Chanel or Gucci (and who knows, that might be down the line!) but for a watch, you need a watch band and you cannot do much better than a leather band for your watch than Hermès leathers.

If you own a Hermès bag, you know the leathers are the cornerstone of the brand. They began as a leather supplier in the equestrian realm! Their leather bracelets are sought after and a fashion icon when you sport one on your wrist.

Hermès is actually supplying Apple with the leather so you are getting genuine Hermès leather when getting your Hermes Apple watch. Hermès does have to maintain its brand image even if it is on a wrist attached to an Apple Watch.

Also cementing the Hermès brand with Apple, are the names of the colors of the leather bands. They are consistent with Hermès personal branded items. The Apple Watch Hermès often comes in their classic colors, although the selections change. Thus, if you see one you like, grab it before it becomes sold out or not produced anymore.

Also, the watch face doesn’t have the Apple name, but the Hermès name in the official Hermès font. the newest Apple Watch enables the watch face to remain ‘on’ all the time. Previous Apple watch iterations required you to move your write. The pricing ranges between $1200 and $1500. These are the same leather bracelet styles in the Hermès stores, further cementing the consistency with the brand.

All in all, if someone was in the market for a watch, and had not delved into the Hermès brand before, this is a great cross-branding that might give Hermès new customers. On the flip side, for those fashionistas that want to keep the luxury accessories on their wrist and didn’t want to swap it out for an Apple watch, then this is a way they can have both.

I took a look at the Apple watch this past summer and was very tempted to get one. My only hesitation is that Apple changes its watches enough to make possibly make purchases obsolete. When shelling out money for the Hermes version, and the leather bands, that could be a money pit. Apple has already changed the size of the watches, so the previous bands don’t work with the new Apple Watch model.

Do you have a Hermes Apple Watch? What do you think?