Withit’s Titanium Band for Apple Watch Dresses Up My Look at the Right Price

I have always been a watcher. I see advertisements for fancy analog watches and admire their design and the precise engineering behind them, but my desire never compelled me to drop several thousand dollars for a timepiece.

The Apple Watch it has enough to satisfy that desire in a certain budget ($400 to $800) that I can afford. But apart from choosing different case materials – aluminium, stainless steel and titanium in the current line – its design has remained consistent over time. So if you want your Apple Watch to stand out, you do it with a watch band.

That’s created a third-party market that includes everything from Apple’s range of models to cheap knockoffs and — if you’re willing to spend big — Hermès which I’m sure are fine but are better known for being Hermès.

And somewhere in the middle are bands like Withit’s Titanium Band for Apple Watch that look great, are well built and are still affordable.

To the top of the metal band type links

Last year, I finally parted ways with my long history of aluminum-bodied Apple Watches and bought an A maximum of 3 in black titanium, paired with a textile terracotta alpine loop. The Ultra isn’t sold with a metal band with a link, but since Apple Watch bands are compatible with most Apple Watch models, you can buy Apple’s steel band for $349 — about half the cost of the watch itself.

Withit’s titanium band is very affordable; retail price is $145, but it sells for Amazon for $99.

I’ve never owned a link style band, so the lightness of the titanium was surprising at first. Like the Ultra 3 itself, I came to it expecting it to be bulky or heavy, and that wasn’t the case once I wore it for a few minutes.

Titanium is grade 2, which means it is stronger than pure commercial titanium. The metal Apple uses in the Ultra line channels and the titanium Series 11 is grade 5, or “aerospace grade,” which is even stronger (and 100% recycled).

The Ultra 3 and titanium Series 11 cases are also notable because they are 3D printed, not carved from blocks of metal. In fact, Apple starts with grade 23 titanium, refined to a fine powder, which includes less oxygen than conventional grades. Why is O2 low? Because ordinary titanium powder is very explosive when exposed to the lasers used in the 3D printing process! The entire production process produces enough oxygen to make it a class 5 during the process.

After wearing it for several months, the Withit band has not shown any scratches or signs of wear and tear during my daily use. I haven’t challenged it when I’m in the thick of things, but my routine involves more tapping than typing — like a sudden knock on the door. Withit says the group also has a “diamond-like carbon coating.”

To turn the watch on and off, the band uses a two-button switch which, in my experience, is safe and easy to control.

Coming back to the style, the black titanium of the With band goes well with the black titanium Ultra 3 case. I’m used to mismatched or purposely colored watch band links so it’s nice to see the colors blend so well in this combination. It also looks great on my old jet black Apple Watch Series 10which was replaced by Ultra 3.

Flexibility

I have 17 cm (6.7 inch) thin hands, so out of the box the band was too big. This is where the Withit team shines, because you don’t need a set of jewelry tools and a magnifying lens to adjust the contacts like you would with a steel band on a regular watch.

Instead, each is held together with a spring mechanism. You slide the right part of the link outwards and rotate it so that it clears the post holding the next link. Then, slide the connector on the side of the previously designed arrow under the rotating part. Do the same with the next link down and remove the entire link piece.

I ended up pulling five links through trial and error to find a length that worked for me.

I’ve never had a watch band that’s a constant length, so that’s one of the two things that annoys me sometimes. As my wrist changes width throughout the day with the normal adjustment of wearing a ring, the watch can be a little loose or a little tight; I can’t switch to a different hook like the alpine loop group. I think this is just a feature of all fixed length units, even those that cost thousands of dollars.

Style is important

My only complaint is the bright white Withit logo printed on the clasp. Although it is not usually visible on the lower part of my hand, the contrast between the white and the dark gray makes it visible and distracting when I change my hand. (People who wear watches on the inside of the wrist will have to look at the symbol more often.)

It would be better if you press the mark on the bottom part of the clasp. Or the company can print it in black or dark gray, or encase it in metal. Branding has its place, but a logo that interferes with the look of something that’s meant to be a design statement detracts from the overall look.

That complaint aside, I liked having a watch band that enhances the look of the Apple Watch. It has been durable enough for everyday use, and when I wear it, it feels like it improves my look a bit. Maybe not as much as Patek Philippe or IWC Schaffhausen, but that’s good for my bank account.