Slate vs. Natural Titanium?

[AndrewR23]

According to my personal visual check in Apple Store:

Jet Black is surprisingly reflective especially after some body oil getting on the surface, it is very hard to tell if it isn't the old SS JB
It is notably not the same coating finishing on the iPhone 7, and at least with the demo units I can't see it being scratched already (where the black Ti 16 Pros on the iPhone isle are scratched as hell)

Natural Ti is more than just slight tint, it obviously cannot pass as silver
Slate Ti is not as dark as SS JB, or even the S10 alu JB but they look very close if environment is low light
So they are really close in how dark they are; I was wearing my S7 SS graphite, its darkness sits right between natural and slate Ti
For anyone looking for a shinny / as bright as possible finish, you have to go for Hermes this year
By the way, all the in store Hermes new bands except the Grand H, are waste of time IMO lol. Just get a leather band through Hermes

The Ultra2 black has a rougher touch than natural Ti
Two demos units I saw both had small, white scratch marks. it is hard to tell if they are permanent but they are very visible
The new Ti Milanese for Ultra is very nice. It feels structurally sound but light weight, the cobra buckle is well made, it's a bit hard to put on and even harder to adjust but feels great when worn

Gotta disagree here. As someone who has a ton of leather Hermes bands, the best out right now is the Kilim. And if you frequent the Hermes thread, most users only wear the Kilim as a daily driver. Its an incredible band. Check it out.

 

[epitaphic]

Here is a good video that compares the Natural to Slate Titanium.

Thanks for sharing, super useful. I like that they show the Milanese loops on the respective watches. Now I'm wondering what slate Milanese would look like on the natural Ti 😅

 

[epitaphic]

Gotta disagree here. As someone who has a ton of leather Hermes bands, the best out right now is the Kilim. And if you frequent the Hermes thread, most users only wear the Kilim as a daily driver. Its an incredible band. Check it out.

I reckon they were mostly warning against the fabric ones. I've gotta say tho, before lurking the Hermes thread, I had dismissed the Kilim outright because it was elastomer. I figured why pay so much for a tweaked sport band. But oh boy was I wrong!

What colours do you have on the Kilim?

 

[Someirishguy]

I’ve have a Graphite S8, which I prefer to my previous SS S4. Was in an Apple Store today, and checked out the different colours. Didn’t pull the trigger, but will go for Natural Titanium when I do

 

[Chancha]

I’ve have a Graphite S8, which I prefer to my previous SS S4. Was in an Apple Store today, and checked out the different colours. Didn’t pull the trigger, but will go for Natural Titanium when I do

View attachment 2430709

So your S8 Graphite band isn’t in this photo, these are just the three new colors?

 

[Someirishguy]

So your S8 Graphite band isn’t in this photo, these are just the three new colors?

Correct, it only shows the new colours. I didn’t have my graphite Milanese loop with me. I did compare the graphite case to the natural and slate cases, and it sat between the two. If you add the silver Hermes to the line up, you end up with a fairly smooth gradient (i.e. similar jumps in darkness) from silver to natural to graphite to slate.

 

[Chancha]

Correct, it only shows the new colours. I didn’t have my graphite Milanese loop with me. I did compare the graphite case to the natural and slate cases, and it sat between the two. If you add the silver Hermes to the line up, you end up with a fairly smooth gradient (i.e. similar jumps in darkness) from silver to natural to graphite to slate.

I was actually wearing my Graphite S7 Milanese when visiting the store on launch day, but it was too crowded to ask for the new Milanese, so I only judged from those "stick props" that only have the watch case itself. The Slate Titanium is darker than the graphite but only slightly so. But I heard that the Milanese band on the other hand, the new Slate vs the old Graphite are almost identical, only slightly, indistinguishably darker.

 

[C. Robert]

The natural has an unfinished look to it. Slate or gold are the only good looking ones

 

[Someirishguy]

The natural has an unfinished look to it. Slate or gold are the only good looking ones

Nah

 

[Chancha]

I decided to get the natural after some days of pondering. The slate while cool looking, it is too close to the old stainless steel graphite that I was just wearing, and I wanted a change. The Natural Titanium may look dull or even dark when lighting is limited (which strangely is the case in my local indoor Apple Store), but with enough light it looks stunning. It is not as shinny as the silver SS / Hermes Ti with its subtle tone, but I think it gives more character.

 

[Oreon]

View attachment 2432121
I decided to get the natural after some days of pondering. The slate while cool looking, it is too close to the old stainless steel graphite that I was just wearing, and I wanted a change. The Natural Titanium may look dull or even dark when lighting is limited (which strangely is the case in my local indoor Apple Store), but with enough light it looks stunning. It is not as shinny as the silver SS / Hermes Ti with its subtle tone, but I think it gives more character.

Thanks for this, graphite is my favorite coloured Apple Watch and have slate arriving tomorrow, was hoping it was similar. Had SS last time and wanted a change.

 

[richard13]

View attachment 2432121
I decided to get the natural after some days of pondering. The slate while cool looking, it is too close to the old stainless steel graphite that I was just wearing, and I wanted a change. The Natural Titanium may look dull or even dark when lighting is limited (which strangely is the case in my local indoor Apple Store), but with enough light it looks stunning. It is not as shinny as the silver SS / Hermes Ti with its subtle tone, but I think it gives more character.

I agree about the lighting in the Apple Store. I couldn't get a really good read on any of these colors but I did decide that the Slate looked too dark (very similar to Jet Black but slightly lighter). The Gold didn't look like real gold (to me). The Natural looked a little muted but I wanted that so that's what I ordered. I've seen this color in YouTube videos outside and it looks great! Coming from an aluminum silver I'm looking for a bit of a change.

 

[ufgatorvet]

View attachment 2432121
I decided to get the natural after some days of pondering. The slate while cool looking, it is too close to the old stainless steel graphite that I was just wearing, and I wanted a change. The Natural Titanium may look dull or even dark when lighting is limited (which strangely is the case in my local indoor Apple Store), but with enough light it looks stunning. It is not as shinny as the silver SS / Hermes Ti with its subtle tone, but I think it gives more character.

Can you flip it over and take a picture of the front in that same lighting?

 

[Spankey]

After owning the slate for a few weeks now I feel that I’m starting to see a bit more grey depending on the lighting. I’m happy with it coming from my last SS. I liked the SS but thought it lacked a little character so I went back to the darker watch.

 

[Loge]

Still of the opinion that the SS space black was the best Apple Watch finish ever.

 

[Chancha]

Can you flip it over and take a picture of the front in that same lighting?

Sure do.

The Natural's slight tint is understated but it is there. In the second photo you see the 3 silver keycaps on my macro pad, those are PVD coated plain aluminium so they are a bit brighter. The watch looks grey-ish compared to them, but just looking at the watch itself you'd think it is bright enough. I am digging this tone.

 

[Peepo]

View attachment 2432121
I decided to get the natural after some days of pondering. The slate while cool looking, it is too close to the old stainless steel graphite that I was just wearing, and I wanted a change. The Natural Titanium may look dull or even dark when lighting is limited (which strangely is the case in my local indoor Apple Store), but with enough light it looks stunning. It is not as shinny as the silver SS / Hermes Ti with its subtle tone, but I think it gives more character.

Ya I just got mine yesterday and noticed it seems darker in low light than my SS, but I think this is nice because in low light it’s not as flashy. I also like the contrast between the black bezel and natural finish which I think is missed in the Slate. In low light the natural looks more like the picture of Slate on Apple’s website. Still not sure why they messed up so much in the colors there.

 

[Teride]

View attachment 2415033
Best side by side I've seen so far

Are these Titanium? They look too shiny.

 

[ufgatorvet]

View attachment 2432640 View attachment 2432641
Sure do.

The Natural's slight tint is understated but it is there. In the second photo you see the 3 silver keycaps on my macro pad, those are PVD coated plain aluminium so they are a bit brighter. The watch looks grey-ish compared to them, but just looking at the watch itself you'd think it is bright enough. I am digging this tone.

Super nice. I may have to go with the natural. Was going to the Apple Store to take a look in person, but Milton has interfered with that plan ... maybe next week. Thank you for doing that.

 

[richard13]

Super nice. I may have to go with the natural. Was going to the Apple Store to take a look in person, but Milton has interfered with that plan ... maybe next week. Thank you for doing that.

Definitely check them out in person. Apple's "photos" are way off in how they really look. I wasn't planning on getting the Natural Ti but wound up getting it over the gold and slate and I'm super happy!

I'm also in the doldrums due to Milton.

 

[Thalyn]

I reckon they were mostly warning against the fabric ones. I've gotta say tho, before lurking the Hermes thread, I had dismissed the Kilim outright because it was elastomer. I figured why pay so much for a tweaked sport band. But oh boy was I wrong!

What colours do you have on the Kilim?

Me too. I always dismissed the bands. Recently picked up the Noir Kilim and it is by far my most favourite band! I immediately placed an order for the Béton Kilim off the Hermès site.

I'm a little obsessed with these now and can see myself picking up more colours in the future.

This is on a natural titanium series 10. Maybe it's just my eyes, but I don't see much of a difference between the SS lugs and the natural titanium. I'm particular about these things matching...but somehow, to my eyes, no discernable difference.

 

[Teride]

Can someone post a good close pic of the slate?

 

[AphraB]

Can someone post a good close pic of the slate?

 

[epitaphic]

Here's Slate, Natural, and Silver

 

[janezblond]

Here’s Slate with the Slate link bracelet