Picture Comparisons of 3rd Party VS OEM Bands

[toxtrepla]

So when I first got into Apple Watches I started off with a handful of 3rd Party bands on the advice of a handful of Apple subreddits and forums. And while at the time I didn’t immediately perceive a drastic quality difference, over time I got more into OEM bands/loops and honestly haven’t looked back.

I’ve been replaced some of my 3rd party Urvoi and Crested bands (the two most popular 3rd party loop manufacturers) with legitimate Apple ones so I thought it would be fun to post the side by side comparisons.

I regularly hear there is no difference in measurable quality, and I can’t disagree any more strongly with that statement. The colors, stitch quality, velcro strength, lug fittings, etc... Pics below. Anyone else have any comparisons?

Urvoi Midnight Blue vs OEM

Crested Anchor Gray vs OEM

 

[Sirious]

I wish the 3rd party ones were on point with the length, as I find some of them to be way longer than the genuine ones! Apart from that, its nice to be able to change the bands regularly due to their cost

 

[Nimbus134]

I took a bunch of comparison pics recently. The sport loops are definitely the closest to stock.

 

[Sirious]

I got the "close your rings" bands too!

I took a bunch of comparison pics recently. The sport loops are definitely the closest to stock. View attachment 913657 View attachment 913665 View attachment 913666

Are your "close your ring" bands all 3rd party?

 

[Nimbus134]

I got the "close your rings" bands too!



Are your "close your ring" bands all 3rd party?

No, this thread has comparison pics with oem vs third party. So the pics I posted all have oem and third party, to compare.

 

[Pitch]

@toxtrepla and @athousandbands know my sport loops are my only bands where I have a mix of non-OEM duplicates of OEM bands and while there certainly is a difference in quality, for the difference in price I'm pretty happy with the knockoffs. I've been fortunate in that I've gotten lugs that lock in on the I LOVE LUO bands and I think the color generally is quite close. I bought some bands from Crested via ORSOI that I thought the lugs were awful in terms of spacing and didn't lock. I have a couple from Urvoi that have colors and lugs which are a good fit, but I find the way the band ties into the lug is less seamless on the Urvoi buys than the I LOVE LUO ones so I only buy them for colors I LOVE LUO doesn't have or for reflective bands, since I LOVE LUO is hit or miss on if they're actually reflective while URVOI is consistent with that. Here are some pics I've shared with the aforementioned illustrious members for your perusal.

Pink sand 44mm knockoff from I LOVE LUO on AliExpress versus 40mm OEM band. Note the more defined pluming and lighter lugs on the OEM. The weave color is slightly darker and tighter on the OEM, but in my opinion it's not a big detraction.

Cornflower 44mm knockoff from I LOVE LUO versus OEM 44mm cornflower. Note the darker lugs on the knockoff – the OEM lugs match the cornflower sport band, while the knockoff lugs are closer to azure. Again the weave is tighter on the OEM, but not by much and the color you really need to scrutinize to tell apart. Pluming is pretty equivalent here.

Product Red gen 1 sport loop 44mm knockoff from I LOVE LUO versus the OEM one I'm safeguarding for @mikedop This is the biggest difference of the three I've compared in person and probably the best argument for OEM sport loops of the three. The weave on the knockoff here is a lot looser, making the pattern look sloppier. The lugs are also a bit darker, and the weave color is a little brighter, but to me neither of those are dealbreakers. Pluming is close.

I also have a canary yellow sport loop that I'm trying to sell that I've toyed with the idea of opening for a comparison but I don't think I will as the new in box canary yellow band I put on eBay sold in 12 hours while the open box one that's otherwise basically brand new has been up for over a week. Here are some comparisons of my canary yellow sport loop knockoff from I LOVE LUO versus pictures I borrowed from @athousandbands of his real one. From the pictures mine looks pretty close but I admit it's hard to get a good read without seeing them side to side. Biggest difference seems to be less defined yellow pluming in the knockoff. First two pics are the knockoff:

These two are OEM from @athousandbands

 

[athousandbands]

Here’s a weave macro from the special day:

 

[mikedis]

I really need to follow up on the kinds of threads I miss. Another great idea that needs to be pinned!

(Huge thanks to @Pitch for mentioning me!)

 

[tamara6]

I'd really like to see a comparison of Flash (or Flash Light) OEM vs Flash (or Light) Urvoi (or similar knock off). I have the Urvoi (both colors), because I'm cheap. I love them. And I want to know just what I'm missing vs. the real thing.

For the canary OEM vs knock-off, the knock-off looks too yellow to me. The real canary is a yellow-orange color, with yellow for the piping.

 

[Pitch]

Here’s a weave macro from the special day:
View attachment 938157

For the canary OEM vs knock-off, the knock-off looks too yellow to me. The real canary is a yellow-orange color, with yellow for the piping.

Weave on the knockoff canary yellow:

 

[athousandbands]

Weave on the knockoff canary yellow:
View attachment 938357

See, now a more golden yellow/tangerine OEM loop in this vein would be welcome!

 

[mikedis]

Here’s a weave macro from the special day:
View attachment 938157

And now I need this one. Didn’t grab one with tox. This’ll be fun to track down for a good price... not!

 

[jags828]

World Indigo/Lime Blast official on the left, 3rd party on the right. I actually like the colors on the third party better. 3rd party sport loops are the closest out of the 3rd party type of bands to the official Apple bands in my opinion.

 

[athousandbands]

View attachment 938654 View attachment 938655
World Indigo/Lime Blast official on the left, 3rd party on the right. I actually like the colors on the third party better. 3rd party sport loops are the closest out of the 3rd party type of bands to the official Apple bands in my opinion.

Lol yeah totally agree...one mfg took the “lime blast” part seriously!

 

[mikedis]

Lol yeah totally agree...one mfg took the “lime blast” part seriously!

The “blast” was lost in translation somewhere.

“Hey, we need to copy this lime blast color.”
“Blasting the lime color!”

 

[FenC]

Interesting thread. As someone who has never been into the loops I'm surprised how much difference there is - looks like heaps to me from the pics.

I got my first four loops this week as part of a bundle I bought for the Hermes bands. One is knock-off and I'm pretty sure the other three are real. The knockoff is terrible, mainly because it's so narrow - I have no idea how it compares to the genuine in colour. I actually thought it was 38/40 at first, but I think it's a 38/40 width band with 42/44 (ish) lugs. I don't know what brand of knockoff it is and I don't care - it's probably going in the bin as I don't know what else to do with it - I literally wouldn't want it as a gift.

Anyway, what I'd like to see in this thread is other styles compared - especially Hermes. I don't have any other knockoffs myself though, other than some sort of blue silicone thing (maybe closest to Horizon) and three third party options that aren't trying to look like OEM, that also came with the same bundle and also likely destined to be thrown away.