I posted pics of this one over a year ago lolol
Images of Ultra-Rare Apple Watch Band Designed for Sir Jony Ive Surface Online
Images of an Apple Watch band designed to celebrate former Apple design chief Sir Jony Ive's 50th birthday have emerged online, providing a look...www.macrumors.com
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Prototype Apple Watch Bands!
- Thread starter mikedis
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Mulberry FineWoven Magnetic Link prototype.
It‘s always nice to have a rare band but I hope Apple makes this an official release because it’s a very beautiful color.
Now that's nice. Does yours have a data matrix on the metal lug?
Shipping was fast on this one!
Sorry I’ve been sort of abandoning this thread. I try not to post prototypes in public places anymore for the safety of the sellers, it’s what I’ve been asked to do by them.
In less prototypey news, though, finally got a retail light bone recently. Been looking for one of these for 4 years!
In less prototypey news, though, finally got a retail light bone recently. Been looking for one of these for 4 years!
Congrats!!
One of us! One of us!
I scored my light bone white whale band a few years back for a hair above retail on eBay after a while of having it as a saved search.
How’d you get ahold of yours?
That’s insane. I paid quite a bit more than retail for mine, though it’s new and barely scratched on the pin so I guess I can’t complain.
I told everyone’s favorite band curator to let me know if he ever sees one. Same message for years. This month he finally had one!
In case anyone wants a prototype braided solo loop that’s very close to Hermes orange and has quite a bit of money to spend…
Braided Solo Loop/Only Orange Apple Watch Band EngineeringSample 45mm sizes8 | eBay
It is not Bright Orange. Its size is 45mm. It is a size 8. （The Apple Watch and Hermès box shown in the picture are not sold together, this is the price of the watch strap alone）. I have owned it for more than a year, and it has been sitting in my cabinet.
www.ebay.com
My god that is RIDONCULOUS!In case anyone wants a prototype braided solo loop that’s very close to Hermes orange and has quite a bit of money to spend…
Braided Solo Loop/Only Orange Apple Watch Band EngineeringSample 45mm sizes8 | eBay
It is not Bright Orange. Its size is 45mm. It is a size 8. （The Apple Watch and Hermès box shown in the picture are not sold together, this is the price of the watch strap alone）. I have owned it for more than a year, and it has been sitting in my cabinet.www.ebay.com
2021 Black Unity Sport Band
Unreleased engineering sample using pre-existing colors, possibly to test compression molding pattern before FKM recipes for new colors were finalized?
Unreleased engineering sample using pre-existing colors, possibly to test compression molding pattern before FKM recipes for new colors were finalized?
2020 Leather Link Prototype (Vietnam Factory) on the left
2024 Leather Link Prototype (China Factory) on the right
Despite my choice in words above (which is based on publication) both bands were likely produced within a year of each other. The vietnam band was leaked and reported on, while the china band is one that only recently came into the spotlight.
It's pretty cool to see both bands are the same idea executed in a different way. It's also a shame we never got either one in a real public release.
2024 Leather Link Prototype (China Factory) on the right
Despite my choice in words above (which is based on publication) both bands were likely produced within a year of each other. The vietnam band was leaked and reported on, while the china band is one that only recently came into the spotlight.
It's pretty cool to see both bands are the same idea executed in a different way. It's also a shame we never got either one in a real public release.
Attachments
Chargerstore have this electric blue now 😯 44mm
Original Apple Watch Leather Link 44MM Electric Blue engineering band/Prototype | eBay
44MM SM size. 100% original Apple leather link band. You can find Apple's unique laser graving with crystal clear script of unique serial number on the clasp/lug as shown in photo#3. Photo#10~13 are for color comparison purpose only.
www.ebay.com
Speaking of rare bands, I'm halfway to completing my 2016 Internationals collection.
Don't forget the Electric Blue and "Hermes" Orange Leather Links
I actually just realized that the Italy Woven Nylon hasn't yet made a formal appearance in this thread.
For the 2016 Olympics taking place in Rio de Janeiro, Apple released a collection of 14 Woven Nylon bands celebrating a few of the Olympics’ major competing teams. These bands were sold exclusively at one Apple Store in Rio for only a few weeks before being discontinued. This ultra exclusivity has made these 14 bands very difficult to find for collectors. As such, there are a few people posting them in this thread in the past, as it used to be titled "Rare Apple Watch bands!"
One of the competing teams in 2016 left out of Apple's International Collection, of course, is Italy. It seems as though Apple did in fact create several sets of an Italy Woven Nylon, though, as a few have popped up for sale here and there. I think the last time one was sold was in 2020 or 2021. Very few of these exist, likely less than 30.
There exist a few sets without the "42/38mm" and "Woven Nylon" stickers on the back of the band, as these are early production samples. Most of the sets out there, though, do have these badges/markings, so they look just like any other retail band... except for the fact that an Italy Woven Nylon was never sold publicly.
The band features three distinct blocks of color which make up an Italian flag, with more vibrant colors than the very similar Mexico Woven Nylon. Another key difference is the Italy band features green plastic lugs, while Mexico's are red. The middle block is an off-white with a green hue, and it's not really known if Apple intended for this to be white or not, as it could possibly just be color bleed from the green, a similar process that happens with the Canada Woven Nylon, giving Canada's band a pink central color.
Italy makes an appearance on the very far left side of this pic, then again between China and Jamaica. As you can see, both 42mm and 38mm versions exist.
The Italy Woven Nylon is an insanely rare collection piece that unfortunately won't be available to many collectors, despite fitting in perfectly with the rest of the International lineup.
For the 2016 Olympics taking place in Rio de Janeiro, Apple released a collection of 14 Woven Nylon bands celebrating a few of the Olympics’ major competing teams. These bands were sold exclusively at one Apple Store in Rio for only a few weeks before being discontinued. This ultra exclusivity has made these 14 bands very difficult to find for collectors. As such, there are a few people posting them in this thread in the past, as it used to be titled "Rare Apple Watch bands!"
One of the competing teams in 2016 left out of Apple's International Collection, of course, is Italy. It seems as though Apple did in fact create several sets of an Italy Woven Nylon, though, as a few have popped up for sale here and there. I think the last time one was sold was in 2020 or 2021. Very few of these exist, likely less than 30.
There exist a few sets without the "42/38mm" and "Woven Nylon" stickers on the back of the band, as these are early production samples. Most of the sets out there, though, do have these badges/markings, so they look just like any other retail band... except for the fact that an Italy Woven Nylon was never sold publicly.
The band features three distinct blocks of color which make up an Italian flag, with more vibrant colors than the very similar Mexico Woven Nylon. Another key difference is the Italy band features green plastic lugs, while Mexico's are red. The middle block is an off-white with a green hue, and it's not really known if Apple intended for this to be white or not, as it could possibly just be color bleed from the green, a similar process that happens with the Canada Woven Nylon, giving Canada's band a pink central color.
Italy makes an appearance on the very far left side of this pic, then again between China and Jamaica. As you can see, both 42mm and 38mm versions exist.
The Italy Woven Nylon is an insanely rare collection piece that unfortunately won't be available to many collectors, despite fitting in perfectly with the rest of the International lineup.
