By Leander Kahney • 3:21 pm, September 7, 2022

Rumors that Apple is discontinuing its partnership with Hermès appear to be completely wrong.

Among the flurry of announcements during Wednesday morning’s ‘Far Out’ event was news that the French fashion house is introducing two fancy new Apple Watch bands, plus a new watch face that celebrates the house’s equestrian roots.

Coming this fall, Hermès will ship two new bands. The first is called H Diagonal, a leather band with hundreds of ‘microperforations’ that spell out the Hermès H.

The second is Gourmette Metal, a hybrid leather-and-metal band with a polished stainless steel chain integrated with a leather strap. It wraps twice around the wrist.

Hermès Apple Watches will also get a whimsical watch face called Lucky Horse, which honors Hermès equestrian roots. It shows an animated horse that sleeps when the watch is lowered and comes alive when it is raised.

Nike also is bringing out new straps and watch faces in the fall. Nike will have vibrant new Sport Band colors, plus a new Sport Loop with the company’s “Just Do It” logo woven into the band.

In addition, any Apple Watch running watchOS 9 — not just Nike models — will be able to display all the Nike watch faces, Apple said.