Apple Watch sells out online in 1 hour as shoppers queue up around the world
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People flocked to Apple's stores around the world to get a close-up look at the Apple Watch, the tech company's first foray into the personal luxury goods market.
The device was available for preorder online and to try out in stores by appointment, but not to take home.
Tim Cook, interviewed on cable television channel CNBC, said initial orders were 'great.'
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A throng of Apple lovers gathers at its store in Tokyo's upscale Omotesando neighborhood for their first look at the Apple Watch.
Apple CEO Tim Cook showed off his personal Apple Watch to customers at an Apple Store in Palo Alto.
Apple predicted on Thursday that demand would exceed supply at product launch.
Without knowing how many watches consumers have ordered, Wall Street analysts said it was too early to adjust their estimates for sales of the gadget.
Another key factor in the watch's success will be demand once an initial wave of interest from Apple enthusiasts subsides.
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The watch goes on sale officially on April 24, online and through appointments in shops, including trendy fashion boutiques in Paris, London and Tokyo, part of Apple's strategy of positioning the wearable computer as a must-have accessory.
But soon after online preorders opened on Friday, Apple's website listed shipping times in June for some models of the watch and four to six weeks for others.
There was immediately brisk bidding on eBay for confirmed orders for watches, with hundreds of sellers looking to make a few hundred or even thousand dollars by passing on their watches, once received.
Customers look at Apple Watches at an Apple store in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province.
An assortment of Apple's new watch lies on display during a preview day at the Apple Store in Covent Garden in London.
The lowest-priced Sport model on eBay was $470, a markup of more than $100.
A top-of-the-line gold Apple Watch Edition was listed for $20,000 on Ebay, $3,000 more than its official price.
Testing Apple's mastery of consumer trends, the watch is an untried concept for the Cupertino, California-based company.
It straddles a technology market accustomed to rapid obsolescence and luxury goods whose appeal lies in their enduring value.
At an Apple store in Paris, staff cheered the first customers, most of them men under 30 years old.
'I have everything from Apple, so now I need to get the watch,' 19-year-old Jeremy Dugue, wearing an Armani leather jacket, said after ordering the stainless steel model at 1,149 euros ($1,218).
The Apple Watch sport starts at $349 while the standard version comes in at $549 in the United States.
High-end 'Edition' watches with 18-karat gold alloys are priced from $10,000 and go as high as $17,000.
The Watch also went on display in Apple stores across these regions, as well as in Galeries Lafayette in Paris (pictured), Isetan in Tokyo, Selfridges in London, and select Apple resellers in Japan and China.
At Apple's flagship store in New York, Jack Weber, who was visiting from Charlottesville, Virginia, said he would give his wife a top-of-the-line 'Edition' as a 50th-anniversary gift.
'What more perfect wedding present could there be than this watch,' he said.
Long wait times will likely stimulate more demand for the watch - which allows users to check email, listen to music and make phone calls when paired with an iPhone - with little risk of losing impatient customers, said JMP analyst Alex Gauna.
'You would want to catch up by the holiday season,' Gauna said. 'But based on what's out there in Android land, I don't think there's an extreme risk in near term of losing customers who must have a smartwatch and will go to some alternative.'
Android is Google's mobile operating system used on many smartwatches.
Reviewers this week praised the watch, which also helps users monitor their health and exercise, as 'beautiful' and 'stylish'.
Apple's new watches are displayed at a store in San Francisco, Friday, April 10, 2015. Apple has started taking orders for the watch on its website and the Apple Store app.
Customers wait in line outside of an Apple store in front of a display for Apple's new watch in San Francisco.
Apple CEO Tim Cook looks over a selection of Apple Watches in Palo Alto
Sales estimates for 2015 vary widely. Piper Jaffray predicts 8 million units and Global Securities Research forecasts 40 million.
By comparison, Apple sold nearly 200 million iPhones last year.
Apple's watch is widely expected to outsell those by Samsung, Sony Corp and Fitbit, which have attracted modest interest from consumers.
It will likely account for 55 percent of global smartwatch shipments this year, according to Societe Generale.
'Apple will outsell its wearable rivals by a very wide margin but it will do this on the power of its brand and its design alone,' independent technology analyst Richard Windsor said.
'Consequently, I am sticking to my 20 million forecast for the first 12 months and see the potential for some sogginess in the stock as reality sets in.'
Apple shares were up 0.45 percent at $127.13 in afternoon trading on the Nasdaq.
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