Watch enthusiasts lined up around the world on Saturday for the launch of the Audemars Piguet x Swatch collaboration. The launch led to some chaos in cities around the world, but that should not detract from what is a fun and meaningful collaboration for both brands.
Called the Royal Pop, the daring new concept draws on the heritage of Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak, one of the most distinctive and audacious designs in Swiss watchmaking.
To match that spirit, Swatch and AP are rethinking how a watch can be worn. Rather than sitting on the wrist, the Royal Pop is conceived as a modern pocket watch: strap-free and designed to slip into a pocket, hang around the neck on a calfskin lanyard available in three lengths, or sit in a dedicated receptacle that transforms it into a desk clock.
It carries familiar AP design codes, including the Petite Tapisserie dial and the Royal Oak’s signature octagonal bezel, secured by eight hexagonal screws. The case measures 40mm with a thickness of 8.4mm, expanding to 44.2mm x 53.2mm when fitted into its clip. Hands and indices are coated in Grade A Super-LumiNova.
The watch arrives in two variations. The first is the Lepine style, with the crown positioned at 12 o’clock, offered in six colourways. Green Eight pairs a green case and dial with a lime-green bezel; Huit Blanc features an all-white case, dial and bezel punctuated by rainbow-toned indices and screws; Otto Rosso comes in pink with a red bezel; Orenji Hachi combines a navy case with orange-red accents; and Ocho Negro contrasts a black case and dial with a white bezel and indices.
The second variation is the Savonette style, with the crown positioned at 3 o’clock like a traditional wristwatch, alongside a small seconds subdial.
Among the colourways is Otg Roz, an intentionally loud combination of pink case, teal dial, yellow crown and bezel, pink small seconds display, and black-and-yellow accents. Lan Ba, meanwhile, takes a cooler approach, pairing a blue case and dial with light blue details across the bezel, crown and subdial.
The watches are designed with interchangeable cases and cost Dh1,530.
Despite the playful presentation, the mechanics are serious. Power comes from a new manually wound SISTEM51 movement, partially visible through the transparent caseback. The display also reveals the status of the mainspring: the barrel chambers appear gold when fully wound and grey when depleted. The movement offers a 90-hour power reserve and uses the same antimagnetic Nivachron balance spring found in several seven-figure Audemars Piguet timepieces.
Initially, the watch will be sold exclusively through Swatch boutiques, and in the UAE will only be available in two locations: the Swatch stores at Mall of the Emirates and Dubai Mall. Of course, there are already unofficial resellers offering the watch at a mark-up.
When design details of the watch were revealed late on May 12 – after days of intense speculation, fake renders flooding social media, and reports of people queuing outside US Swatch stores three days ahead of launch – the reaction was divisive, with many expressing disappointment at the pocket watch concept.
Still, that didn't dampen demand in Dubai. In fact, huge crowds ahead of opening time on Saturday led to the cancellation of the launch event, leaving many disappointed.
The Royal Pop is the latest high-low collaboration from Swatch, the colourful Swiss watchmaker that has repeatedly turned affordable timepieces into cultural events.
In 2022, it partnered with Omega on a low-cost version of the Speedmaster Moonwatch. Priced at just $260, the watch sold out within minutes, with police called to London’s Carnaby Street store within half an hour of its opening, to control the crowd. In Dubai, resale prices quickly surged to Dh20,000 – more than 20 times the original Dh950 retail price.
Swatch followed that hype in September 2023 with the Bioceramic Scuba Fifty Fathoms collection, created with Blancpain as a tribute to the brand’s famous 1953 dive watch. The five ocean-themed models, priced at $400 each, also sold out on release day.
What makes this latest collaboration particularly intriguing is that, unlike Omega and Blancpain, Audemars Piguet is not owned by the Swatch Group. The Le Brassus watchmaker remains independently owned, making this a genuine meeting of minds rather than an in-house collaboration.
Bringing together one of the world’s most exclusive watchmakers with a mass-market name gives the Royal Pop particularly potent appeal. It also continues a legacy Swatch has been building since 1983, when it upended the watch industry with affordable, stylish and colourful Swiss-made quartz watches – transforming the humble plastic watch into a covetable cultural object.
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