Apple has just made its third of three big personnel additions, poaching some high-profile people from the fashion and luxury accessories industries in what is likely a sign that it's gearing up for a major push to market the world's first high-end smart watch.

The latest hire, as The Cut reports, is watch-sales expert Patrick Pruniaux, former vice-president of sales at Tag Heuer. In the last year they've also brought on former Burberry CEO Angela Ahrendts (who's been on board at Apple since last fall) and former Yves Saint Laurent CEO Paul Deneve. This new team will likely be tasked with positioning Apple's long-rumored iWatch in the competitive market against luxury brands like Rolex, Cartier, and Tag Heuer.

The device that's in the works in shrouded in mystery, but over the last year we've heard many small rumored details, including one in which Apple engineers were supposedly working with Corning's Willow glass, a pliable and fully bendable version of the Gorilla Glass that's currently used on iPhones. The bendable glass can wrap around a person's wrist and may be one of the building tools of a smart watch that is not just a timepiece and remote control for your iPod. There could be a time when cellphones become unnecessary, and we all just have Cloud-enabled smart watches and little earpieces, like in Her. But then we might need some kind of Google Glass device to view things on a larger, projected screen, and that would be terrible.

Also, in its June launch of the new iOS 8, Apple may have hinted at some of the iWatch's features with the mobile operating system's emphasis on health and fitness and its voice-messaging capabilities.

No doubt though, in terms of style and capability, Apple's version of the smart watch will be leaps and bounds beyond the things that Sony and Samsung have rushed to market. All these fashion folks are likely having a say in that, because who wants to be so déclassé as to have a clunky-ass smart watch on their wrist and a computer on their face? If it's going to be the next iPhone, it had better be goddamn cool.

Nerds are banking on an October release. Stay tuned.

[The Cut/NYMag]
[Apple Insider]

Previously: As Google's Smartwatch Nears, Apple's Might Be Getting Close Too