[This is my 800th post!]
This “Close Your Rings” Apple Watch Woven Nylon band was only available to Apple employees who participated in and completed the “Close Your Rings” challenge in 2018.
According to MacRumors writer mikedop, who has extensively researched and written about the challenges:
“The Close Your Rings Woven Nylon was the second ever employee exclusive Apple Watch band. This exclusivity combined with the unique design lead to a high demand for the band on secondhand markets like eBay… The Close Your Rings 2018 prize came with a challenge card as well…in a book-like style, with the text on the outside and the band stuck to the card on the inside. The text, sitting on the front below a metallic silhouette of the activity rings in either gold, silver or bronze, read the following: ‘Closure. At last. You did it. You completed the Close Your Rings Challenge, and this band is proof. Put it on your wrist. Let it go straight to your head. You’ve earned it. Wear it, flaunt it, feel free to sweat all over it. It’s yours.’”
Incidentally, the first employee-exclusive Apple Watch band was the original Pride band given to employees who attended the LGBT Pride festival in San Francisco on June 26, 2016.
This Close Your Rings woven nylon band is all black with black plastic lugs and a black buckle. It has a three-color loop closure (called the “keeper” in watch parlance) in blue, green, and red—representing the colors of Apple’s Activity rings. This band is in the 42mm size.
Although this band was not available for sale, this is the description that Apple used for the Woven Nylon Band collection:
“Every Woven Nylon band is made from over 500 threads woven together in a unique, colorful pattern. Monofilaments connect four layers of the weave to create a single durable band with a comfortable, fabric-like feel.”
Sources: Apple, MacRumors (mikedop, Pride band)