Luxury device manufacturer Feld & Volk is known for ripping the internals out of iPhones and building new enclosures for them from a range of high-quality materials, and now the company is doing the same thing with the Apple Watch.
Feld & Volk extracted the components of the Apple Watch and built a unique carbon fiber Apple Watch body from the ground up, for a line of Apple Watches unlike anything Apple is able to offer. Ahead of the launch of its new carbon fiber Apple Watch, Feld & Volk invited us to take a closer look at the device, so MacRumors videographer Matt did a hands-on video to show off its construction and build quality.
Watch on YouTubeAs can be seen in the video, the carbon fiber enclosure of the Apple Watch has been built with precision, incorporating a custom carbon fiber side button in addition to leaving the heart rate sensor and Digital Crown functional and accessible. The cutouts for the microphone and speaker have also been added to the body, so this works just like a regular Apple Watch.
Because it's a custom designed body, Feld & Volk's carbon fiber Apple Watch is not compatible with standard Apple Watch bands. Instead, it is designed to work with traditional watch bands, so it still offers a wide range of band options. A rubber band with a matching clasp customizable with initials will ship with each carbon fiber Apple Watch, and an additional band of alligator leather, textile, or resin will also be included, varying by model.
Feld & Volk plans to officially launch its carbon fiber Apple Watch in the near future, but disassembling the Apple Watch and putting it into a new body doesn't come cheap -- these watches will retail for upwards of $5,000. Along with the carbon fiber Apple Watch shown off in the video, Feld & Volk also plans to release custom enclosures made from brass/carbon and wood, with each new custom Apple Watch available in 38 and 42mm size options.
The Feld & Volk watches will be available later this month at French luxury boutique Collette and from the Feld & Volk website.
Note: Feld & Volk loaned a carbon fiber Apple Watch to MacRumors free of charge for the purposes of this video. No other compensation was received and the watch was returned at the conclusion of filming.
