The Swatch store at Mall of the Emirates – one of only two locations in the UAE meant to be selling the Swatch x Audemars Piguet Royal Pop – has a sign reading: “The watches displayed are for exhibition only.”
It sits above a cabinet holding all eight pocket watches, enticingly arranged behind the glass. Yet any attempt to buy one is politely, but firmly, declined. For a collector, owning one feels seemingly close, yet frustratingly far away.
The Swatch x AP collaboration is arguably the year’s most anticipated watch launch: a high-low partnership between luxury Swiss watchmaker Audemars Piguet and brand Swatch, best known for its colourful plastic watches.
The global launch on May 16 sparked chaotic scenes worldwide, with stores forced to close and police called in to manage crowds. In Dubai Mall and Mall of the Emirates, the number of would-be buyers became so intense that both launches were cancelled before they even began, with all Royal Pop stock moved off-site for safety, according to a staff member.
Although both stores reopened the next day, the watches remained unavailable and no indication was given as to when sales would begin.
Staff are simply advising customers to monitor Swatch’s social media channels for updates, but the pages have not been updated since May 17.
Attempts to determine how and when customers in the UAE might actually be able to purchase the watches proved equally elusive. Calls to both Dubai stores went unanswered. A number listed on the Swatch website redirected to the Rivoli head office, which then redirected to a Longines store under the same retail group, where staff advised visiting the Swatch boutique directly.
At Mall of the Emirates, staff confirmed pieces from the collaboration are expected to remain available for eight months, but said they could not share any details on future stock released in the UAE. In keeping with previous Swatch collaborations, they suggested pieces may be quietly released without prior announcement. At the time of writing, there is no way to register to buy the watch online or in-store.
While malls will be eager to avoid a repeat of the throngs seen on launch day, Swatch appears to have little infrastructure in place to prevent them. Small groups of customers have continued queuing outside stores each morning in the hope the watches might suddenly be made available, with the only system to prevent queue-jumping seemingly organised informally by the customers themselves.
Meanwhile, the international Swatch website – which previously listed all stores carrying the Royal Pop – has removed every location, including Dubai.
In its effort to generate hype ahead of the launch, Swatch may instead have exposed the limits of its own preparedness.
Once the watches do finally go on sale in the UAE, purchases will reportedly be limited to one per person, per day. Globally, resale platforms are already flooded with Royal Pop listings at heavily inflated prices, yet the only official way to buy them remains in person at select Swatch boutiques.
As for the Royal Pop watches listed on online shopping platform Noon for Dh12,500 each – far above the retail price of Dh1,530 – staff at Swatch say they are unable to explain how sellers have obtained stock.
With the roll-out expected to continue for months, Swatch employees instead advise patience. The frenzy, they believe, will subside, allowing collectors to purchase their model of choice, and opportunistic resellers will lose interest. Patience, it seems, may prove to be the most valuable chrono strategy of all.
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