When it comes to wearable technology, such as the Apple Watch and many other competing smartwatches on the market, fashion plays a big role. This isn’t just something you take in and out of your pocket all day long; it’s something you wear.
For that reason, a startup is launching an Indiegogo campaign for a new Apple Watch band made completely of wood, and it’s being called Ottm.
Ottm will come in different kinds of wood colors and fit both 38mm and 42mm Apple Watches, as well as other smartwatches, and they’re hand-crafted to ensure they’re of the highest quality possible.
Ottm: a new type of wrist band for Apple Watch
Ottm is where uniqueness and quality meet. When you think of something as high-tech as the Apple Watch, most of you are probably going to think of a wrist band that has to be made out of some kind of metal or futuristic lightweight material.
What Ottm does is it takes a creative take on the Apple Watch by making use of nature in its simplest form. These handcrafted wrist bands come in Maple, Sandalwood, and Zebrawood variants, and are adjustable just like Apple’s metal link wrist bands are.
Still, metal lugs and stainless steel s-clasps are used for durability, but the links are made from hard wood – not your average skimpy wood!
Here are some examples:
Maple Ottm for Apple Watch
Maple has an all-around light color to it. It’ll make a darker-colored Apple Watch pop, or it’ll compliment lighter-colored Apple Watches nicely.
Sandalwood Ottm for Apple Watch
Sandalwood takes the best of both worlds, mixing lighter colors with darker ones. In my opinion, this is among one of the fanciest offerings. The color tones remind me of the wood trims you’d find in higher-class luxury cars.
Zebrawood Ottm for Apple Watch
The last of the Ottm wood choices is going to be Zebrawood, which as the name implies, has black stripes running through the wood. This will be a popular choice among women and those who are into the ‘rawr’ factor.
Price point
Because the Ottm is being hand-crafted from hard wood, this isn’t a cheap product. You won’t find anything close to this kind of quality and precision at your local dollar store, and as a result, premium products are going to come with premium prices. On the other hand, they’re not that much more expensive than Apple’s Sport band and new Nylon bands.
Here are some of the prices that have been shared with us:
Maple:
- Early backers can have a Maple Apple Watch Ottm for $25
- Regular backers can have a Maple Apple Watch Ottm for $39
- Typical retail cost when the product is for sale will be $49
Zebrawood:
- Early backers can have a Zebrawood Apple Watch Ottm for $39
- Regular backers can have a Zebrawood Apple Watch Ottm for $55
- Typical retail cost when the product is for sale will be $65
Sandalwood:
- Early backers can have a Sandalwood Apple Watch Ottm for $49
- Regular backers can have a Sandalwood Apple Watch Ottm for $65
- Typical retail cost when the product is for sale will be $75
There will also be some bundle deals available for anyone who wants one of each, although you need to be added to the Ottm email list to partake in those prices. Orders will begin shipping as soon as June, while the campaign begins March 31st and ends April 31st.
Other information
Each of the Ottm bands are made from 100% authentic hard wood that is treated with Tung oil for smoothness, and are finished by hand. Because the design of the bands are based off of those of common Swiss watch bands, you can easily add or remove links to make the band fit your wrist, similarly to Apple’s metal link bands.
Apple Watch owners aren’t the only smartwatch users who can benefit! Ottm will also be made for Android Wear, as well as for Pebble.
Another benefit is, each time someone pledges money towards an Ottm on Indiegogo, the company will plant a tree in the forests of British Columbia.
Wrapping up
If you’re interested in backing the Ottm, you can check out the Indiegogo campaign and see what backing options are available.
One thing that’s for sure from looking at the initial pictures is that this is going to be a high-quality third-party Apple Watch band, and no skimping on build quality will come about from the Ottm.
What are your thoughts on a wooden Apple Watch band? Share in the comments!