The Milanese Loop was among Apple’s original Apple Watch band designs. In the press release in September 2014 announcing the original Apple Watch, Apple wrote: “Apple also created an entire range of watch straps [including] the Milanese Loop in a flexible magnetic stainless steel mesh.” The original Milanese Loop was available only in silver, but has been offered in a total of five colors: Silver (Spring 2015), Space Black (Spring 2016), Graphite (Fall 2020), and two shades of Gold (Fall 2018, Fall 2020).
This example is the Generation 1 version of the Gold Stainless Steel Milanese Loop. (The Generation 2 version released in Fall 2020 had a slightly less red tone.)
Apple describes the Milanese Loop:
“A modern interpretation of a design developed in Milan at the end of the 19th century. Woven on specialized Italian machines, the smooth stainless steel mesh wraps fluidly around your wrist. And because it’s fully magnetic, the Milanese Loop is infinitely adjustable, ensuring a perfect fit.”
Apple specifies that the Milanese Loop is not water resistant and cautions that the band contains magnets that may cause interference with the Compass on the watch.
The 38/40/41mm version of the band band fit 130–180mm wrists, while the 42/44/45/49mm version fit 150–200mm wrists. Although this design and color was released in 2015, this Milanese Loop is dated 2019 on the packaging, and the product was still available on the Apple website as of March 2023 (for $99).