Apple’s bold design era from the late 1990s continues to inspire creatives, and a new Apple Watch concept proves just how powerful that nostalgia still is. Inspired by the iconic iMac G3, this fan made design imagines what Apple’s smartwatch might look like if it leaned into translucent plastics and playful colors rather than modern minimalism.
Created by digital designer Saffy Creatives, the concept pulls directly from the design language that defined Apple’s resurgence decades ago. The original iMac G3 stood out with its see through shell and candy like colors, and this Apple Watch concept borrows that same visual identity in a surprisingly convincing way.
While it is not an official product, the attention to detail makes it easy to picture something like this catching on with longtime Apple fans who still remember the excitement of unboxing their first colorful Mac.
Instead of aluminum or stainless steel, the watch casing is wrapped in transparent plastic that closely resembles the body of the original iMac G3. The shape remains familiar to anyone who has worn a modern Apple Watch, but the materials completely change its personality. It feels chunky, playful, and unapologetically retro rather than sleek and understated.
On the front, the concept features a classic rainbow Apple logo, a subtle but meaningful nod to the brand’s past. The bezel stays clean and rounded, allowing the translucent housing and vibrant internal colors to take center stage. The watch faces are shown in several shades inspired by the original iMac lineup, along with hues that recall early iBook laptops.
Each version is paired with matching transparent straps, extending the retro look beyond the watch body itself. The see through bands reinforce the idea that this is not just a color swap but a full commitment to a specific design era. Even though the overall silhouette still matches today’s Apple Watch, the materials make it feel like an entirely different product.
This kind of design taps into a growing appetite for retro inspired technology, especially at a time when many gadgets look increasingly similar. Apple has flirted with playful aesthetics before, from experimenting with colorful AirPods prototypes to releasing quirky accessories like the pricey iPhone sock that leaned heavily on nostalgia.
The appeal here is almost entirely visual. The concept does not introduce new features or functionality, but it does remind people why Apple’s earlier products stood out so strongly. Back then, design was not just about thinness or premium finishes. It was about personality, color, and making technology feel approachable.
Seeing the Apple Watch reimagined through the lens of the iMac G3 also highlights how flexible Apple’s design language really is. A modern wearable wrapped in retro materials still looks intentional, not gimmicky. That balance is difficult to achieve, and it is part of why this concept has attracted so much attention online.
For fans of Apple’s history, the design feels like a respectful throwback rather than a novelty. It brings back memories of an era when computers were exciting objects in their own right, not just tools. Whether or not Apple would ever release something this bold is another question, but concepts like this show that there is still plenty of appetite for more expressive hardware.
You can explore more about Apple’s original design milestones through coverage of the iMac G3 era, or dive deeper into the evolution of the Apple Watch lineup to see how far the wearable has come since its debut.
