I finally bought a pricy Apple Watch band – and I sadly love it

It's the dilemma every Apple Watch owner faces – which band or strap to pick when you buy your watch. After all, almost all of the official Apple straps you can pick up as replacements or new options are pricy enough to make that first choice feel consequential.

When I bought my Apple Watch Series 10 last year, I went for a dark green Sport Loop, the woven fabric strap that you can get at no extra cost while buying your watch. It's worked great, an all-weather option that dries out quickly after a run or being caught in the rain, and it goes with most of my outfits nicely enough that I can forget about it.

Still, there have been a few occasions when I've done just that – forgotten about it – and then realised that I'm at a wedding in a suit with a pretty ragged sporty strap on my watch, even if it is in a nice toned-down colour. So, a few weeks ago, I decided I needed to add a new strap to my locker, and it had to be a smart one.

I deliberated and did some research, then landed on the Milanese Loop, and headed to an Apple Store to try one on. There, I confirmed that the Slate colour was the best match with my watch (since the Series 10 brought back the glossy black finish, however briefly).

Now I'm a few weeks into owning the strap, and while I still wince a little in retrospect at the £99 I was forced to put down for it, there's no doubt that I'm pleased with my purchase. I've got five weddings in the diary for 2026 already, and now I know that I can genuinely not worry about my watch letting the side down – it's a markedly more mature-looking device with the shiny metal band.

One of my few fears was that the band would pinch my arm hairs, and while I may have lost the odd bit of pelt here and there, it's been largely pain-free. Plus, unlike so many other metal bracelets out there, its magnet sealing system means it's just as easy to change how tightly it fits as it was on the fabric Sport Loop.

I know I could have bought a facsimile off Amazon for a drastically lower price, but I want to know that this will last a few years without major wear – and that it won't let the team down where durability is concerned. That meant going direct to Apple, and for all that it's a pricy addition, I'm sadly very much loving my Milanese Loop already.