India, Nov. 19 -- It started with a pie-in-the-sky idea: What if 3D printing - historically used to create prototypes - could be leveraged to produce millions of identical enclosures to Apple's exact design standards, with high-quality recycled metal?

"It wasn't just an idea - it was an idea that wanted to become a reality," says Kate Bergeron, Apple's vice president of Product Design. "Once we asked the question, we immediately started testing it. We had to prove, with continuous prototyping, process optimisation, and a tremendous amount of data gathering, that this technology was capable of meeting the high standard of quality we demand."

This year, all Apple Watch Ultra 3 and titanium Apple Watch Series 11 cases are 3D-printed with 1...