How Apple will charge a premium for the Space Black Stainless Steel Watch

[Night Spring]

Well that's kind of the whole point, from a marketing / sales perspective. A lot of people are going to think that the Space Black Stainless Steel model looks the nicest, and will want to purchase it, and will have to deal with the fact that it only comes with what will (most likely) be the most expensive band Apple sells.

But that's going to leave a bad taste in my mouth. If I want a dark steel watch with a leather band, but I have to buy a steel link band that I'm not going to use. It feels very disrespectful of customer choice. It might momentarily get them more money, but it's not going to build long term customer loyalty.

 

[Rogifan]

But that's going to leave a bad taste in my mouth. If I want a dark steel watch with a leather band, but I have to buy a steel link band that I'm not going to use. It feels very disrespectful of customer choice. It might momentarily get them more money, but it's not going to build long term customer loyalty.

And that's how I feel about having to pay for a sport band even if I don't want one. So I hope Apple doesn't go that route. But it doesn't look like there's a leather band with dark SS accents so link bracelet might be the only choice for that one.

 

[Night Spring]

And that's how I feel about having to pay for a sport band even if I don't want one. So I hope Apple doesn't go that route. But it doesn't look like there's a leather band with dark SS accents so link bracelet might be the only choice for that one.

Well, to me, getting the rubber band is the least evil -- it's the least expensive band. So if every watch comes with a band (that is, we can't buy a watch body without a band), then I want the bundled band to be the least expensive band.

And yes, I noticed that there are no leather bands with dark accents, so if the leather bands don't look good on the dark steel watch because the metal colors don't match, then I guess I'll be getting a light colored watch. *sigh*

 

[JayLenochiniMac]

Well that's kind of the whole point, from a marketing / sales perspective. A lot of people are going to think that the Space Black Stainless Steel model looks the nicest, and will want to purchase it, and will have to deal with the fact that it only comes with what will (most likely) be the most expensive band Apple sells.

Wouldn't the Milanese loop be even more expensive?

 

[UltimateSyn]

Wouldn't the Milanese loop be even more expensive?

I'm expecting it will be the same price but you could be right!

"Woven on specialized Italian machines, the smooth stainless steel mesh wraps fluidly around your wrist. And because it’s fully magnetic, the Milanese Loop is infinitely adjustable, ensuring a perfect fit." 'Only an additional $599'

 

[MeFromHere]

Wouldn't the Milanese loop be even more expensive?

I expect the link bracelet to be more expensive than the Milanese loop.

The Milanese loop is woven by a machine. A very expensive machine, yes. But once it's set up, it will churn out woven wire with very little effort. The mesh will have to be cut to length, attached to the ends, and perhaps polished.

The link bracelet has a lot of parts. 9 hours of machining time. Springs, hinges, hard-to-handle fiddly bits. Probably assembled mostly by hand. Brushed after assembly (according to Apple's web page). The black one has extra steps to apply the diamond-like coating (DLC) finish.

There ARE cheaply-made link bracelets on the market. I don't think this will be one of them. I think people will have fits when they see the price. But they'll still sell well in the low-end luxury market -- if they are as well-crafted as Apple is hinting.

 

[biosci]

Is there a site other than Apple's that show the different watches matched to different bands? Again aside from the Apple galleries. I'm thinking maybe someone was able to put together a site that can mix be match the bands as some have been able to make the UI "playable" from the web.

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Wouldn't the Milanese loop be even more expensive?

And is there a "Space Gray" Milanese loop band?

 

[JayLenochiniMac]

Is there a site other than Apple's that show the different watches matched to different bands? Again aside from the Apple galleries. I'm thinking maybe someone was able to put together a site that can mix be match the bands as some have been able to make the UI "playable" from the web.

Yes, see http://veronte.com/watchmix/ and http://homepage.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/...es/Apple_Watch_-_Mix_and_Match_Galleries.html

(from https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1831005/)

And is there a "Space Gray" Milanese loop band?

It's one color, and shown with the standard stainless steel on apple.com

 

[biosci]

This is perfect! It looks a bit off without the other bands though having good enough similar "accents" like the normal SS version does...

 

[T-Will]

The silver Sport watch with the black Sport band is such a cool throwback to the original iPhone color scheme.

 

[Yoonoo]

Based on the combinations shown on the Apple site it doesn't seem that it's possible to combine the space black stainless steel watch with a leather strap. Even if you're willing to throw away the link bracelet and purchase an additional leather strap.

This is because all the leather straps available have regular stainless steel connectors which would look odd with the darker steel of the space black watch.

Not having seen the watch in person, my favorite combo so far is space black stainless steel with a brown modern buckle, but it looks like Apple decided this would not be a good combination...So much for "most personal device"

 

[UltimateSyn]

I think we're all greatly underestimating the premium that this Diamond-Like Carbon coated Space Black watch will have...
I've been doing some research and it seems to be a very rare and high end material in the luxury watch world. I haven't been able to find one for less than $1,000

 

[al256]

I think we're all greatly underestimating the premium that this Diamond-Like Carbon coated Space Black watch will have...
I've been doing some research and it seems to be a very rare and high end material in the luxury watch world. I haven't been able to find one for less than $1,000

Huh.

It looks like DLC coating covers a wide range of industries, each with their own needs. It also looks like there are different grades of this process (amount of hydrogen) along with different methods for the process. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Bn8l0oTk6c

Maybe those other companies are forced to use the vacuum method to produce their products. Who knows, maybe Apple is using the very technology in this video and can produce DLC parts at atmospheric levels.

What does concern me is this caveat on the Swiss Military site:

DLC
Q
You bought a watch which is DLC coated – what does this mean?
A
All our watches are either in stainless steel or in titanium. Some of the stainless steel watches are also DLC coated. DLC is an acronym for diamond-like carbon. As the name implies, diamond-like carbon has some of the valuable properties of diamond. It can be applied as a coating on almost any material that is compatible with the vacuum in which it is usually produced. When applied in pure form it is as hard as natural diamond - or even harder. In pure form these diamond coatings offer extraordinary protection against abrasive wear and attack from atmospheric moisture and chemical vapors.; do note though that any plating can be scratched and contact with chemicals, cosmetics and perspiration in some cases may cause damage to the plating.

CYA?

 

[Piggie]

This is interesting. I shall have to see if i can find out how much this coating costs, as all this magical hype talk gets annoying.

I have items TiN, Fire, TiCN, and a range of about a dozen other coatings for tooling purposes, something the size of a Apple watch would probably be in the order of £10 to £15 for those types of general coating, I shall have to find out if the coating firms we use can offer a DLC coating option.

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I think we're all greatly underestimating the premium that this Diamond-Like Carbon coated Space Black watch will have...
I've been doing some research and it seems to be a very rare and high end material in the luxury watch world. I haven't been able to find one for less than $1,000

The problem is, this could all be a made up and hyped up rare wow factor.

Like the mundane stainless steel Apple are making their stainless watch from, we have loads of bars of that at work, it's not expensive or special at all, it's good quality stainless for medical grade work, but it can be a few dollars a metre type pricing.

Try not to get caught up on hype.

 

[The Doctor11]

I think Apple will sell all of the watch combos on their website as is. So if you bought a sport watch by default you would be getting a matching band. But I think Apple will let you change the band to be which ever one you want. And I think the band will be included in the $350 starting price point. But if you buy a edition and change the band to be a sport that should drop it's starting price point a little bit.

 

[splogue]

The Citizen titanium watch I'm wearing right now has a black DLC coating. It was $350, not 1K, but it also doesn't have an Apple logo on it. I do believe the black stainless model of the Apple watch will go for around 1K.

Also, the coating is fantastic. It looks great, doesn't scratch or wear away. Very sharp. I'm definitely getting the black version of the Apple watch when they finally arrive.

 

[UltimateSyn]

The Citizen titanium watch I'm wearing right now has a black DLC coating. It was $350, not 1K, but it also doesn't have an Apple logo on it. I do believe the black stainless model of the Apple watch will go for around 1K.

Also, the coating is fantastic. It looks great, doesn't scratch or wear away. Very sharp. I'm definitely getting the black version of the Apple watch when they finally arrive.

Glad to be proven wrong! Phew

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Huh.

It looks like DLC coating covers a wide range of industries, each with their own needs. It also looks like there are different grades of this process (amount of hydrogen) along with different methods for the process. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Bn8l0oTk6c

Maybe those other companies are forced to use the vacuum method to produce their products. Who knows, maybe Apple is using the very technology in this video and can produce DLC parts at atmospheric levels.

What does concern me is this caveat on the Swiss Military site:
CYA?

Oh man, so much for my dreams of swimming and showering with the Watch on...
I think that Apple will probably use the best technique of application they can find to ensure the highest quality, I just hope that doesn't translate to an outrageous price.

 

[al256]

I just can't let this go.

Turns out Apple has a patent on DLC coating. http://www.patentlyapple.com/patent...help-keep-battery-powered-devices-cooler.html

In some embodiments, the structural frame is composed of at least one of stainless steel, zinc, magnesium, aluminum, copper, and glass-filled plastic. In some embodiments, the amorphous DLC coating is about 18 microns thick. In some embodiments, the amorphous DLC coating is deposited on the surfaces and the edges of the structural frame using a plasma-assisted vapor deposition technique.

It's for heat dissipation but it shows they know the process. The wait for more information is killing me.

 

[Rogifan]

I just can't let this go.

Turns out Apple has a patent on DLC coating. http://www.patentlyapple.com/patent...help-keep-battery-powered-devices-cooler.html



It's for heat dissipation but it shows they know the process. The wait for more information is killing me.

I see the following individuals listed as inventors on this patent:

Stephen Zadesky, Fletcher Rothkopf and Anna Shedletsky

According to The Offical Board Zadesky is a VP of iPhone product design reporting to Jony Ive. Which makes me think then some of the top iPhone and/or iPad enginners must be part of the Watch team.

 

[al256]

Zadesky is a VP of iPhone product design reporting to Jony Ive. Which makes me think then some of the top iPhone and/or iPad enginners must be part of the Watch team.

You're right. This looks like the force touch patent with Zadesky's name all over it. http://www.techinsighter.com/blog/2014/1/26/smart-metal-next-level-of-tactile-interaction

Potential Applications in Ultraportable devices

wrist-watch devices
pendant devices
headphone
earpiece devices
other wearable and miniature devices
The clue, Apple can use the same Liquidmetal force sensor also as a touch interface structure. Such a minimal design would allow sensing of both touch position and touch intensity in only one sub-display structure.

 

[UltimateSyn]

plasma-assisted vapor deposition technique.

$$$$$

 

[al256]

$$$$$

I'll just tell myself that technique was used for DLC's conductive properties and not for aesthetics.

We don't need medical grade DLC coating for reduced clotting. We don't need automotive DLC coating for friction reduction. We don't need DLC coating for drilling, milling or cutting. All we need DLC for is aesthetics and scratch resistance.

 

[Piggie]

Oh well, looks like the Coating People I've used before do a DLC Coating option:

http://www.coating-guide.balzers.com/web/en/application/punching-forming/coating-summary

There is a list of their coatings, and their hardness ratings etc etc.

As you can see under the "Coating Material" column this is the DLC based one:

http://www.coating-guide.balzers.com/web/en/application/punching-forming/coating-summary/DLC

I could get a price

 

[lunaoso]

I'm going to be very disappointed if the link bracelet is the only one available for the space black version, even though one of the two bands along with the sport. Both of those would be fine with it, but for future proofing (wanting a new band in the future) I just couldn't bring myself to getting the space black version.

 

[Supermallet]

I don't think there will be any surprise as to how the Apple Watch is sold. It will be just like their computers. The website will say "Sport Edition from $350" "Steel Edition from $xxx(x?)", and "Gold Edition from $xxx(xx?)".

When you click to the page for each edition, just like in the Macs, it will have a base configuration. This base configuration will match the "from" price listed on the front page of the website. It will include whatever is the cheapest strap for that edition. That is to say, just as some Macs start with more powerful CPU and can't be downgraded, the Steel and Gold editions will be made available with a band that is more expensive than the Sport band, and even though you can buy an additional sport band if you like, you can't go below the base price by trying to get ONLY a Sport band. The Sport Edition will obviously start at $350 with a Sport band included. They may charge more for some colors, or they may not.

From there, you'll be able to choose more expensive band options. Presumably you'd be able to buy any band more expensive than the base band, and this will mean your watch will come with ONLY the band you've chosen, just as Macs don't come with the base RAM and the RAM upgrade you paid for, it just comes with the total of the upgraded RAM you ordered (e.g. you order 16 GB of RAM on a computer whose base is 4 GB, you only get 16 GB RAM when the computer arrives, not 16 GB + 4 GB).

Then you'll have the option to buy additional watch bands. This will include bands at all price points, but they will be packaged separately, not in the watch box, the same way a printer you order with a Mac won't come packaged into the Mac box.

There is no way that Apple is going to sell the Steel or Gold editions with a sports band attached. You'll be able to buy an additional sports band to use with them, but it won't come in the box.