Your pic makes the new bands look black, I'm pretty sure they're still brown just darker. Haven't seen them in person so cant say for sure if I like them. The old brown and white was/is a classic that has been imitated countless times. The new ones with gold details definitely give them a more upscale look but at a steep sacrifice.
Often times I look in my humi and spot my beloved especial #2's from 2010. The clean white print and embossing on the bands are a nice upgrade to the traditional simple bands of old without making them lose that iconic familiarity and elegant simplicity. I think the bands from this time period were the best they could possibly be.
From time to time I think to myself that the bands look quite ordinary, but the feeling lasts about half a second before I realize that those simple brown and white bands are lovely and perfect just as they are, and that a big part of the reason I like them so much is that they say so much with very little. It takes many many decades for a brand's identity to achieve that status.
It's a little sad they added the gold. They do look like NC's at first glance. You have to wonder what idiots are managing their branding. The sad part is that graphic design firms don't get paid to keep a logo/identity the same, so they have to tinker in order to earn a commission. Not sure if thats what happened here or if it was just a lapse in judgement. It's like seeing a beautiful historic building demolished.
