Apple Planned Black Ceramic Apple Watch Edition Series 5

Apple considered offering a black version of the ceramic Apple Watch Edition Series 5, according to newly-shared images of the prototype casing.

The images, shared on Twitter by the prototype collector and leaker referred to as "Mr. White," show a prototype black ceramic Apple Watch casing, alongside the white ceramic version.

The ceramic Apple Watch Edition Series 5 was never obtainable in a black color option, only being available in a striking gloss white finish. Apple marketed the ceramic white Apple Watch Edition as a high-end option starting at $1,249, due to its extremely unique finish.

At that time, Apple lauded the ceramic casing as strong, light, and scratch-resistant, being four times as hard as the stainless steel finish, while also featuring a "pearly, lustrous finish" that's extremely resistant to scratches and tarnishing.

The process of fabricating the Apple Watch Edition case commences with a high-strength zirconia powder that's coupled with alumina to accomplish its rich, white color. Each case is then compression molded, sintered, and polished using a diamond slurry, which results in an amazingly smooth surface and a perfect shine. With this precise degree of workmanship, every Apple Watch Edition case takes days to create.

The black ceramic finish displayed in the images looks nearly the same as the Space Black stainless Apple Watch, even though it really is slightly lighter in color, it isn't unreasonable to speculate that the similarity of the finishes may be the reason why Apple never took the black ceramic case forward.

Apple introduced a ceramic Apple Watch Edition with the Series 2, which went on to provide a gray ceramic option with the Series 3. While there is no ceramic Apple Watch Edition for Series 4 models, Apple revived the high-end white ceramic Edition model for the Series 5. With the most recent Apple Watch Series 6, there is again no ceramic version, with the Edition models having a cheaper titanium casing only.