Apple mocked for Apple Watch 'Deployment Buckle' gaffe

Watch aficionados are pointing out an apparent blunder in Apple branding that mislabels, and mistranslates, a well-known clasp type as a "Deployment Buckle."

As noted in a tongue-in-cheek takedown from Gizmodo, Apple is marketing an Apple Watch Hermes strap as "Leather Single Tour Deployment Buckle," when the accepted nomenclature is "deployant clasp."

The misidentification appears to be a simple mistake, as the French word from which deployant is derived is indeed related to "deployment." Deployer means to "unfold" or "spread open," not "deploy," reporter John Biggs notes.

Like its name implies, deployant clasps are mechanisms that spread apart at a hinge to elongate an attached wrist strap, opening enough to slide over a user's hand. When the watch is in place on the wrist, the hinge is closed, tightening the strap to a wearer's liking.

While not a particularly offensive error, referencing the Hermes' Single Tour strap accessory as including a "deployment buckle" is likely to raise the eyebrows of potential buyers. After all, those in the market for a $1,250-plus Apple Watch designed in collaboration with Hermes — or a $540 standalone strap — are perhaps more likely to be familiar with the correct terminology.

Even Apple can get high fashion wrong.