It is not often that a timepiece fires popular imagination so that it not only takes along those who are ‘into watches’, but spills over into the broader world of fashion and lifestyle. The Audemars Piguet x Swatch Royal Pop that went on sale yesterday has done just that and is a very unusual piece, or maybe pieces, since there are eight of them, in that respect. The rush is so much that the launches in Dubai, Mumbai and Delhi had to be postponed to a later date as the crowd thronging to buy the watch at the outlets and other places became unmanageable after waiting since sometimes as early as 5am. And all this for a watch that is not even a limited-edition release.
As is evident from its name, the Royal Pop has been born of a rather unexpected collaboration between Swiss watch brands, the mass market Swatch and the luxury Audemars Piguet (AP). What is even more interesting is that it is not even a wristwatch but a pocket watch on a strap. What seems to be pulling in people is that they can own a timepiece that legitimately carries the AP brand and still not break the bank. The Royal Pop ranges from $400 to $420 (around ₹39,000). The cheapest AP Royal Oak watch will drill at least a $20,000 hole in the pocket for a quartz. Look at mechanical movements, which is where these watches really shine, and prices zoom past $30,000 (close to ₹30 lakh). So, with the Royal Pop, suddenly, AP seems to be within reach.
AP is one of the most aspirational watch brands in the world currently. Along with Patek Philippe and Vacheron Constantin, it forms the Holy Trinity of the traditional Swiss watch world where they remain independent and make watches in fairly small numbers, which makes their timepieces difficult to get hold of. For instance, if one wants to buy a Royal Oak at an AP boutique, the wait can be anywhere from one to five years or longer depending on the model. And while there is nothing official about it, sometimes one will not get a Royal Oak unless something else is bought first. So, the demand far outstrips supply.
The Royal Oak was designed by the best-known watch designer ever, Gerald Genta, in the 1970s and was possibly the first stainless steel ‘sports watch’ which predates the Patek Philippe Nautilus by a few years. So, the Royal Pop carries forward the Genta design with the blessings of AP and is a sort of a coup for watch lovers even if it is a $400 watch made of Bioceramic, which is Swatch-speak for plastic, but has the same octagonal bezel with the screws and the ‘Tapisserie’ dial of the Royal Oak.
This isn’t Swatch’s first collaboration with other watch brands and it has already demonstrated how effective this collaboration strategy can be. The template was established in 2022 with the Omega x Swatch MoonSwatch collection, a playful reinterpretation of the iconic Speedmaster Moonwatch in colourful designs. It quickly became one of the decade’s most significant watch releases, drawing enormous crowds outside boutiques and introducing a new audience to Swiss watchmaking. Even three years after its launch, Swatch boutiques were not selling more than one MoonSwatch to one person at one time.
Its appeal reached well beyond traditional collectors, capturing the attention of sneaker culture, fashion enthusiasts, and younger consumers who had previously shown little interest in watches. Many analysts even argue that the MoonSwatch reignited enthusiasm for traditional watches at a time when younger buyers were increasingly gravitating toward smartwatches. And, in that respect, Swatch might have pulled one back for the traditional watch industry that is increasingly losing customers to smartwatches that offer far greater utility compared to mechanical watches for their price.
More importantly, the Omega collaboration appears to have strengthened Omega’s brand rather than diminished it. Early concerns centred on whether an affordable plastic interpretation of the Speedmaster might undermine the prestige of the original Moonwatch. Instead, retailers reported growing interest in authentic Speedmasters as the Swatch collaboration drew new consumers into the category. Across Reddit and enthusiast communities, the MoonSwatch is often described as a “gateway” watch — an accessible introduction that allowed buyers to explore the Speedmaster design before eventually upgrading to the genuine model.
Swatch followed a similar strategy in 2023 with the Blancpain x Swatch Bioceramic Scuba Fifty Fathoms collection. This release transformed Blancpain’s iconic Fifty Fathoms diver into a more colourful and approachable product while still incorporating an automatic mechanical movement, the Sistem51.
The partnership generated a substantial increase in visibility for Blancpain, especially among younger audiences unfamiliar with the brand. Unlike Omega, Blancpain had long occupied a more understated and niche position within the luxury watch industry. The Swatch collaboration suddenly propelled the Fifty Fathoms into mainstream cultural conversation.
Swatch’s collaborators Omega and Blancpain were from the Swatch group. Now, their success has convinced an independent watchmaker like AP to tie up.
What is also interesting is that the Royal Pop comes with Swatch’s Sistem 51 mechanical movement that powers the Fifty Fathoms, with a manual winding modification. It has a 90-hour power reserve. The watch comes with a modular design, where the 40mm across and 8.4mm thick watch itself clips into the mount for the strap, much like Swatch’s Pop wristwatches from the 1980s that had swappable straps.
And while the originals will be sold only as pocket watches for now at least, social media is already rife with designs and advertisements for wrist adapters for both the types — those with the crown at 12 o’clock and the ones with the crown at 3 o’clock and a subseconds dial. And once the watch hits the market there will surely be more.
In the 1980s, when the Swiss watch faced a strong threat from quartz watches, it was under the leadership of Swatch that the threat was staved off. Now, traditional watches are getting pushed out of the market by smartwatches. Will Swatch and its collaborations be able to turn the tide and put the excitement back into traditional watches? They certainly seem to have caught the fancy of watch buyers as of now!