Apple hired luxury designers to make its watch

Apple didn't reveal one watch yesterday; it revealed 34. At its annual unveiling of new technology, the company revealed two new iPhones and the Apple Watch. But unlike the iPhones, the Watch will have dozens of different personalized design options.

On top of offering three different models for the case and 11 different interfaces, Apple revealed a slew of band options to accessorize your wearable technology. There are bands made of stainless steal and bands made of leather. Some bands clasp, others buckle, and some are just "fluid." The Watch starts at $349 and will be available in the spring of 2015.

Various watch bands available for the Apple Watch (Apple)

The company poached several top luxury watch designers in the last few months, including Patrick Pruniaux, formerly of Tag Heuer; Angela Ahrendts of Burberry; and Paul Deneve of YSL.  The launch of three distinct collections — sport, normal, and luxury — involves taking aim at different demographics, a tried and true fashion brand move. The "Watch Edition" is obviously aimed at the luxury fashion customers these three designers are accustomed to working for.

"If you look at the way handbags have become statement items and your choice of handbag tells the world something about who you are, I suspect that Apple will be going this way with the wearables," Ben Thompson, editor of Statchery.com told The Guardian. "They'll begin with two prototype products and later there will more options to follow, and the hope is to create something that becomes as successful as the luxury handbag market."

The slew of band options is an obvious effort by the company to make wearable tech beautiful.  In some ways, this is a direct response to Google Glass, a product that, while interesting, was highly criticized for its appearance.

The iWatch, while it may not actually make you healthier, will at least be pretty.

Will you support Vox’s explanatory journalism?

Most news outlets make their money through advertising or subscriptions. But when it comes to what we’re trying to do at Vox, there are a couple reasons that we can't rely only on ads and subscriptions to keep the lights on.

First, advertising dollars go up and down with the economy. We often only know a few months out what our advertising revenue will be, which makes it hard to plan ahead.

Second, we’re not in the subscriptions business. Vox is here to help everyone understand the complex issues shaping the world — not just the people who can afford to pay for a subscription. We believe that’s an important part of building a more equal society. We can’t do that if we have a paywall.

That’s why we also turn to you, our readers, to help us keep Vox free. If you also believe that everyone deserves access to trusted high-quality information, will you make a gift to Vox today?

One-Time Monthly Annual

$5/month

$10/month

$25/month

$50/month

Other

$

Yes, I'll give $5/month

Yes, I'll give $5/month

We accept credit card, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. You can also contribute via