High-End Apple Watch Comes With Charging Box

Apple is truly determined to woo the luxury watch shopping segment with its 18K gold plated Apple Watch that will now be supplied in a leather box with charging capability.

The gold watch would be delivered in an aniline dyed leather box, which is ultra suede on the inside and is equipped with a magnetic charging pad, which would come with a lightning connector for charging the smartwatch.

“We didn’t want the packaging to be a sort of shorthand for value, where the box needs to be big and we have to include expensive materials. We’ve always liked the idea that if we are heavy in our thinking, we can be much lighter in the implementation,” said Jonathan Ive, senior vice president of design at Apple in an interview with Financial Times.

“So there’s huge virtue, I think, in keeping the packaging small: at least, it is the right choice environmentally, it’s easier to move things around and you don’t end up with your wardrobes full of large watch boxes that you don’t use,” he said.

While the regular Apple Watch would sell for around $349, the exclusive 18K gold version is expected to sell for about $4,500 or more. Since the announcement of its launch at the Keynote last year, Apple has directed its marketing efforts to appeal an exclusive segment of buyers, which have long been loyal to luxury watch brands like Rolex and Cartier.

“I am not going to buy a watch if I can’t stand on carpet,” Ive overheard someone say, according to the New Yorker.

Last September, Apple presented the watch during Paris Fashion Week at a boutique store and invited fashion editors to the event. And now, Apple is setting out to reimagine the Apple Store with full-length mirrors and exclusive private areas for showcasing the watch.