Apple Watch goes on sale — but few available to buy anywhere and no blockbuster queues

Elite shops including one in London will be the only places to get one of the very few Watches available on its launch day

The Apple Watch went on display in Apple stores earlier this month (Getty) (Getty Images)

The Apple Watch officially launches today — but the event will only be marked by the arrival of some packages in the hands of those that ordered quickly enough to miss the delivery delays.

Apple’s tightly-controlled launch, which asked customers to pre-order online two weeks before the Watch was released, has meant that supplies are now low and any customers ordering now will face a wait of several months. Apple is continuing its policy of not selling the watch in its shops, which means that there was none of the trademark queues outside of Apple Stores this morning.

It had even removed most references to the much-anticipated April 24 launch date as it became clear that the day would make little difference to most customers.

Six high-end boutiques that were specially selected by Apple sold some versions of the Watch, including Dover Street Market in London’s Mayfair, which is thought to have about 300 Watches. But otherwise the restrictions on buying Watches from a real shop are likely to continue until June.

Pre-ordering online still shows delays of a number of months for some models of the Watch, though Apple has told customers that their deliveries are likely to arrive well in advance of estimates.

Apple has conducted a tightly-controlled launch campaign for the Watch, which was announced in September and is its first major product in five years and since the death of Steve Jobs. It is priced between £299, for the lower-end Sport version, and £13,000 for the luxury, solid gold Apple Watch Edition.