Apple is redesigning its stores to make them feel like a more “natural” environment for the Apple Watch ahead of the products launch in April, with design chief Jony Ive working with executive Angela Ahrendts to manage the transformation.

According to a profile of Ive by Ian Parker in the New Yorker, the new look will include a “glass-topped Apple Watch display cabinet, accessible to staff from below” and “vitrines filled with gold”.

The gold-heavy design of the Edition variant of the Apple Watch is forcing Apple Stores to revise their security protocols as well, with custom-designed safes that include chargers, so devices can be kept ready for display, according to 9to5Mac.

Apple is also reportedly looking into special weight measurement technology that will enable it to detect customers who have bought the Apple Watch, removed or replaced the gold, and are then attempting to return it to store.

With regular models of the Apple Watch starting at around $349 (£226), the Edition variant is expected to retail for anywhere between $1,200 and $5,000, easily justifying the increase in security for stores that carry the device.