Apple design boss Jony Ive teases the iWATCH, promises to rival Swiss watches in design

By Sam Colt

The New York Times' Nick Bilton is out with a column on how ugly smartwatches are and uncovered a rare product tease from Apple's lead designer, Jony Ive. Bilton spoke to an Apple designer who works with Ive. According to this secondhand account, Ive has strong feelings that Apple's upcoming wearable device will rival Swiss watch designs.

Here's the nugget from Bilton's column:

According to a designer who works at Apple, Jonathan Ive, Apple's design chief, in bragging about how cool he thought the iWatch was shaping up to be, gleefully said Switzerland is in trouble - though he chose a much bolder term for "trouble" to express how he thought the watchmaking nation might be in a tough predicament when Apple's watch comes out. You can probably guess what word Ive really used instead of "trouble."

Apple is expected to unveil the next iPhone and the a new wearable at a press event on September 9. We'll have to wait until then to see if the so-called iWatch will become the bane of Switzerland's existence.