Luxurious leather and sartorial style meets technological prowess as Apple and Hermès partner to take the smartwatch to the next level

In the highly-anticipated Apple product event last night in San Francisco, the company revealed its first high fashion collaboration – to the delight of those who appreciate both haute couture and horology, Apple announced it would be partnering with none other than Hermès to release an Apple Watch with a distinctly French twist.

The luxury fashion house will be producing luxurious, finely crafted leather straps for the smartwatch, all handmade in France and available in Single Tour, Double Tour and Cuff styles. Materials such as fauve Barenia leather, noir box leather and capucine Swift leather will be used. 

Across the collection, each stainless steel casing will feature the iconic Hermès signature etching and feature customisable faces with three exclusive dial designs inspired by existing Hermès watches – namely, the Clipper, Cape Cod and Espace. Needless to say, it’s an incredible improvement for the gadget, which now looks like an actual luxury product. 

If the Apple Watch never appealed on an aesthetic level to fashionistas, we’re pretty sure this will be seen on many a wrist in the front row come Paris Fashion Week in October – the watch is available from October 5 and is priced from US$1,100 (HK$8,525).