Jony Ive and Marc Newson, Apple’s latest high-profile hire, are old friends. The two industrial designers made a media splash together late last year when they collaborated in an auction at Sotheby’s for Bono’s Product Red.

Among their joint appearances was a 38-minute segment of The Charlie Rose Show.

“Jony and I collaborate without even having to think about collaborating,” Newson told Rose. “We talk about this stuff all the time.”

To which Ive added:

“I think one of the things that we respond to [in design] is that sense of almost inevitability. Of course, it’s this way. There couldn’t be any other smart or rational alternative.”

The quote is intriguing, given that Newson has designed a line of watches for Ikepod and that Apple on Tuesday is expected to show the world what it thinks a smartwatch should be. If Newson had a hand in designing the iWatch, Apple almost had to hire him before the unveiling.

You can watch full Charlie Rose interview on Hulu.

Below: A 2:40 excerpt from YouTube.

[youtube=http://youtu.be/RaE1G85Qgps]

Follow Philip Elmer-DeWitt on Twitter at @philiped. Read his Apple (AAPL) coverage at fortune.com/ped or subscribe via his RSS feed.