Japan’s a-peeling ‘apple watch’ goes viral

This handout photo taken and supplied by twitter user “sinomoritsukasa” on September 10, 2014 shows an “Apple Watch” carved from an apple in Tokyo. Manufacturing finesse, precision craftmanship and a love of all things quirky have produced the Apple Watch — Japan’s real-life version. AFP

TOKYO — Manufacturing finesse, precision craftmanship and a love of all things quirky have produced the Apple Watch — Japan’s real-life version.

Japanese Twitter user Hiromichi Shoji, who goes by the username @sinomoritsukasa, carved a big red fruit into a classic wristwatch soon after the US tech giant announced the new wearable gadget.

Unfortunately it can’t chat to your smartphone, stream your music or remind you of an appointment, and in fact, it can’t even tell the correct time.

But Shoji’s apple timepiece has proved an Internet hit after pipping the Californian manufacturer to the post.

Pictures of his creation were retweeted more than 30,000 times in five hours in multiple languages.

“I got an Apple Watch already! Its web site is lovely with nice visuals and text describing it,” he said in a tweet, referencing the mock Internet page he created for his invention.

“This is a device that can absolutely mess up the cuff of your dress shirt,” he said in a caption.

“This is a partner that turns brown and attract(s) tiny flies,” said another.

In one of the pictures, a half of the carved apple watch appears to have been bitten off.

“I like it so much that I finished eating it in no time,” he wrote.

In online exchanges with AFP, Shoji said he was happy to share his joke with the rest of the world, but admitted in another tweet: “(Making the watch) was the most pointless two hours of my life.”

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