Luxe smartwatches get a second limited edition release
The Olio Model One, a seriously stylish smartwatch that wants to manage your digital noise, is back up for pre-order with two new collections aimed at women.
Another 1,000 of the limited edition Black and Steel models of the luxury watch made by boutique smartwatch makers Olio Devices are available to pre-order from Olio Devices. Prices start at $745 for the Black model and $595 if you prefer Steel.
Read this: What you need to know about the Olio Model One
Olio has also announced two new collections geared towards women – a 24-karat gold plated watch and an 18-karat rose gold plated watch – both of which are made from the same cold-forged, hand-finished stainless steel as the original Model One collections and feature a single-crystal sapphire lens. There are only 100 pieces being made, to start with, in each material.
Each collection comes with a bespoke UI and watch face aesthetic to match the hardware and the Gold and Rose Gold watches also come with a custom alligator grain on the Italian leather bands. Prices for both collections are $1,195 with a leather band and $1,395 with a matching gold or rose gold plated bracelet – it’s worth noting that Olio’s $250 friends and family discount has been extended. The new collections are set to ship in autumn/fall of 2015.
The smartwatches are iOS and Android compatible, have a two day battery life and feature a round LCD display. Olio Assist, its cloud-based personal assistant, is onboard as well as voice controls to link up to Siri or Google Now and Control Hub for smart home controls.
The new collections are the same size and diameter as the Model One, all that has changed is the material, so the 47mm watch which is 12mm thick won’t be for everyone. The water resistant smartwatch weighs 81g with a leather strap and 161g with the steel link bracelet.
“We think the gold and the rose gold definitely have an appeal for men and for women, especially women who are attracted to that oversized, Michael Kors boyfriend-style watch. It’s the same size as that watch,” Olio Devices founder and CEO Steve Jacobs told Wareable.
“For those women, it’s a great fit. For those women who want a smaller, Cartier-style watch we probably don’t have the best match for them quite yet.”
Jacobs is responding to the sizeable amount of interest in Olio’s launch from women. According to the CEO, 45% of Olio’s website traffic came from women but that didn’t translate into sales.
“The purchasing was much higher skewed towards men,” he said. “Traditionally that’s to be expected. Men are traditionally more early adopters and to be fair, the Black and the Steel are more masculine in the look. That being said, now that we’re introducing the Gold and the Rose Gold, we’re hoping that a lot of those same women and new women are interested in our product.”
Anyone who pre-ordered a Model One from Olio back in March is looking at a September delivery which just about fits into the original summer timeframe promised at launch.