There are few third-party band options available for the Apple Watch at the current point in time given that it just launched a week and a half ago, but those of you who purchased a stainless steel Apple Watch with a Classic Buckle or Modern Buckle band can use the components from those bands to connect standard watch bands to your Apple Watch devices.
In a newly published video, Lewis Hilsenteger of Unbox Therapy walks through the process of using the parts in the Classic Buckle band to connect a 22mm third-party watch band to the Apple Watch.
As it turns out, there are two small pentalobe screws holding the pin component of the Classic Buckle together, so with a pentalobe screwdriver, the portion of the band that connects to the Apple Watch can be disassembled, slid into a standard pin-based watch band, and reassembled.
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The Modern Buckle and the Classic Buckle are the only two bands that have a pin-based connector built-in, so those of you who want to use different watch bands with your Apple Watch devices will need to either purchase one of the models that comes with a Classic Buckle band or purchase a Classic Buckle band separately for $149 (estimated to ship out in May). The Modern Buckle has the same connector, but Modern Buckle Apple Watches have not yet shipped out and those bands are listed as "Currently Unavailable" in the online Apple Store.
Along with a compatible Apple Watch band, a tiny pentalobe screwdriver is also required to swap out the band, but those are available at little cost. With a Classic Buckle and the screwdriver, making a swap is as uncomplicated as simply removing two screws, pulling apart the connector, sticking the pieces into another watch band, and putting it back together again.
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Now that I think about it, this is excellent for the leather straps specifically. Based on my experience with Apple's dyed leather iPhone cases, I'd say there is a high chance of color fading or basic wear and tear of the straps and even if you'd prefer to use Apple's straps, this will come in handy if you don't plan on spending a couple hundred dollars for a strap once you're not proud of wearing the original.
I highly doubt it. For $10-20 (or whatever) you can get an adapter, which is a lot cheaper than buying an official band to just take apart. Other people might want different colors for the connector bits.