These videos explain how aluminium, steel and gold are used to make the Apple Watch

Jony Ive makes forging and polishing sound real sexy
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Watch porn is a pretty established genre among wristwatch buffs - we're talking slow motion, close up shots of details such as dials and chronographs. Considering Apple's smartwatch starts at £300 and goes all the way up to £8,000+ models, it's no surprise that it's joining in.

Read this: Apple Watch launch date revealed - 24 April

At its 'Spring Forward' event in San Francisco on 9 March, Apple showed three videos explaining the processes behind making the aluminium Apple Watch Sport, the stainless steel Apple Watch and the 18 karat gold Apple Watch Edition.

With slow, silky voiceovers from Senior Vice President of Design Jony Ive and arty recreations of how the materials are used, this is next gen watch porn at its finest. And now they're up on YouTube, posted below, for you to rewatch with a few of the more interesting tidbits pulled out too. Enjoy.

Apple Watch Sport - Aluminium

The aluminium, magnesium and zinc alloy used in the £299+ Apple Watch Sport is custom designed by Apple's engineers and according to Ive is 60% stronger than standard alloys. It's also lightweight though we don't know precisely how light just yet.

Apple's extrusion process is used to create a uniform surface on the aluminium with no defects and then the metal is textured with microscopic zirconia beads for that satin finish you'll see on the Watch Sport. Finally, the metal is anodised for protection. It's all very meticulous.

Second look: Hands on with the Apple Watch ... again

Apple Watch - Steel

Next up is the stainless steel Apple Watch, which starts at £479. We reckon this is Jony's favourite material - it's "strong and beautiful" and he says there's a reason it has been used to make watch cases for centuries.

Must have extras: Best Apple Watch accessories

A cold forging process, which looks pretty fun, makes the steel up to 80% harder, according to Ive. The Watch is polished to a mirror finish or for the Space Black steel, a "diamond like" carbon layer is added for both durability and looks.

The links bracelets are made up of over 140 individual parts. But that Milanese loop, a fine mesh of steel coils, is by far the prettiest strap.

Apple Watch Edition - Gold

What's better than gold? Apple gold, of course. With a twinkly, Chinese-style soundtrack, Ive describes that this gold, silver, copper and palladium alloy is up to twice as hard as standard gold.

The molten yellow and rose gold is hardened and cast into solid ingots. Milled to remove imperfections, compressed into pore-free billets and then scanned by ultrasonic scanners to detect defects, it has its work cut out before it meets Apple's standards.

Also used on the Digital Crown and clasps, the gold is hand polished by "jewellery artisans". Phew, Apple is really working for our £8,000.


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Sophie was Wareable's associate editor. She joined the team from Stuff magazine where she was an in-house reviewer. For three and a half years, she tested every smartphone, tablet, and robot vacuum that mattered. 

A fan of thoughtful design, innovative apps, and that Spike Jonze film, she is currently wondering how many fitness tracker reviews it will take to get her fit. Current bet: 19.

Sophie has also written for a host of sites, including Metro, the Evening Standard, the Times, the Telegraph, Little White Lies, the Press Association and the Debrief.

She now works for Wired.


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