Newly Discovered Prototype Shows Apple Planned to Release the Original Apple Watch in Ceramic

From the very beginning, Apple clearly intended to market the Apple Watch as more than just a gadget for techies. The original Apple Watch model (now known as the “Series 0”) launched in early 2015 with models in aluminum, stainless steel, and an ostentatious 18-karat gold, but new photos now reveal that Apple may have planned a ceramic finish from the very beginning.

While the Apple Watch Series 2 did finally land with a ceramic version in the fall of 2016, many assumed at the time that this was only because Apple had given up on the original gold Apple Watch Edition. After all, while the new ceramic model still didn’t come cheap, with prices starting at $1,249, it was still much more reasonable than the $10,000+ 18-karat gold model that preceded it.

However, a new series of prototype photos reveal that Apple may have had the ceramic model in mind all along, but for whatever reason wasn’t able to get it ready in time.

This latest info comes from Twitter user @DongleBookPro (via 9to5Mac), a known collector of Apple prototypes. According to the tweet, the unit in question was manufactured in 2014, and features other markings typical of an unreleased first-generation Apple Watch. To protect the secrecy of the design, it also bears the classic “Lorem Ipsum” markings and lacks anything that would identify it as an Apple product.

The unit is also apparently still in working order, although it’s running internal Apple test software, rather than any known version of watchOS.

Gold vs Ceramic

It’s hard to know for certain whether Apple intended to launch this ceramic version alongside the extremely pricy gold Apple Watch Edition, rather than as a replacement for it, but we strongly suspect it was the former.

Even though some people consider Apple to be a “luxury” product company, it’s really not. Apple makes some pricey products, but it very rarely makes things expensive for the sake of making them expensive, and it’s definitely not known for its bling. After all, there are lots of other companies that will be happy to sell you an expensive gold-gilded iPhone.

So, needless to say, the Apple Watch Edition always seemed like a very odd product coming from Apple. However, it was also a product from a company that was trying to break entirely new ground and make an impression on the fashion industry. It’s also likely that this was at least partially influenced by Angela Ahrendts, Apple’s erstwhile Senior VP of Retail and former CEO of Burberry.

After all, Apple wanted to make a big splash with the Apple Watch, and in this case, simply being “Apple” wasn’t going to be enough. If it wanted the fashion industry to take it seriously, it needed to produce a watch that would rival brands like Rolex, Breuer, and Patel Philippe.

In fact, it even hired executives from brands like Yves Saint Laurent and Tag Heuer to help it create and market the watch.

There’s probably no way that Apple would have ever graced the cover of Vogue, Elle, or Flare if there hadn’t been a $10,000+ version on the market. A sub-$1,000 Apple Watch would have been dismissed as a tech gadget or toy by the showy and pretentious fashion industry.

By the time the Apple Watch Series 2 came out the following year, Apple had accomplished its goal of getting people to sit up and take notice of its new wearable. It’s hard to argue that today the Apple Watch has more cachet associated with it than any other smartwatch.

Of course, it also doesn’t hurt that Apple continues to offer some more modest fashion partnerships with premium style brands like Hermès, but those are still a far cry from a five-figure Apple Watch made from solid gold. For the most part, the Apple Watch Series 2 was the beginning of the end for Apple’s dance with the fashion industry.

The Ceramic Apple Watch

We’ll probably never know whether Apple simply couldn’t get the ceramic finish right for the 2015 Apple Watch, or if it decided to hold that model back to avoid cluttering the lineup. Certainly, the lack of any finishes more premium than stainless steel made the gold Edition model stand out even more.

However, even today, ceramic and the Apple Watch have had something of an on-again-off-again relationship. The ceramic version continued into the Apple Watch Series 3 in 2017, but then mysteriously vanished for the new ECG-equipped Series 4, only to make a brief return with the 2019 Apple Watch Series 5.

Apple also added a brand-new titanium finish with the Series 5, making that model available in the largest number of different materials than any other Apple Watch generation, since the ceramic version didn’t continue for last year’s Apple Watch Series 6.

As of today, there are no Apple Watch models available in ceramic, since the Series 5 is no longer sold, and as Apple’s entry-level model, the Apple Watch Series 3 has only been available in the basic aluminum finishes since it was superseded by the Series 4 in 2018.

In fact, according to another recent prototype leak shared by MacRumors from a now-defunct Twitter user “Mr. White,” Apple even considered a black ceramic version of the Apple Watch Series 5. For whatever reason, that never materialized, but we also wouldn’t rule out the possibility of ceramic making a return once again this fall, and that could be a great opportunity to introduce an Apple Watch Black Ceramic Edition.