The Audemars Piguet x Swatch collaboration is here for real

At a glance:

• Swatch and Audemars Piguet unveil the Royal Pop Collection, a series of pocket watches inspired by AP's Royal Oak and Swatch's 1980s POP watches.
• The collection features eight pocket watches in different colors, priced at $400 (Lépine) and $420 (Savonnette), available from May 16.
• The watches feature a hand-wound movement with 90-hour power reserve and will be sold at 200 select Swatch stores worldwide.

What happened

Swatch has officially revealed its collaboration with luxury watch brand Audemars Piguet, a partnership that has been breaking Instagram with countless AI-generated fake images since the linkup was confirmed on May 8. As suspected, it's not a wristwatch but a series of pocket watches based on AP's classic Royal Oak design. The news comes as a surprise because it was announced ahead of May 16, the date Swatch initially teased in its social media posts. The colorful pocket watches are called the Royal Pop Collection, and are billed by the brand as “a groundbreaking union of Audemars Piguet's iconic Royal Oak and Swatch's POP watches from the 1980s.” This unexpected move has already generated significant buzz, with queues forming outside Swatch stores reminiscent of the 2022 Omega MoonSwatch launch.

Design and Features

The Royal Pop watches marry design hallmarks from Audemars Piguet’s iconic Royal Oak collection, launched in 1972, as well as the Swatch POP watches of the 1980s. In a statement, Swatch emphasized that “this collection will change the way we wear watches. The watches in the AP x Swatch collaboration break free from the wrist ... allowing you to wear the watch in unexpected, playful, and dynamic ways.” Classic design elements from AP’s Royal Oak are indeed present, most strikingly the octagonal bezel with eight visible screws. The Royal Pop dials also heavily reference the “Petite Tapisserie” pattern on the dial of most Royal Oaks. The movement is partially visible thanks to the transparent case back. The Savonnette style also features a dial with a small seconds subdial at 6 o’clock.

The pocket watches are available in two styles: Lépine (with the crown at 12 o’clock) and Savonnette (the crown at 3 o’clock). The one-off collection consists of eight pocket watches in eight different colors, named after variations of the word eight in French, English, Italian, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, German, and Romansh:

• White: Huit Blanc
• Pink: Otto Rosso
• Green: Green Eight
• Lime green/blue: Blaue Acht
• Navy/orange: Orenji Hachi
• Blue/light blue: Lan Ba
• Black/white: Ocho Negro
• Pink/yellow/teal: Otg Roz

The 8.4-mm thick Royal Pop measures 40 mm without being snapped into its bioceramic holder clip, and 44.2 mm by 53.2 mm when it's in it. To complement the calfskin lanyards, Swatch will also offer longer lanyards and desk clock holders (in eight colors) online.

Movement and Technology

It was widely guessed that the automatic movement powering the Royal Pops would be Swatch's own Sistem51, which is entirely assembled on an automated production line and requires no human handling. However, Swatch has developed a brand-new version of the movement for this collaboration that retools Sistem51 as a hand-wound caliber with an impressive 90-hour power reserve. This technical upgrade ensures that the Royal Pop watches maintain Swatch's reputation for innovation while incorporating the precision expected from an Audemars Piguet-inspired timepiece.

Availability and Pricing

The Royal Pop pocket watches will be available starting May 16 at 200 select Swatch stores worldwide. Purchases are restricted to one piece per person per store per day. The Lépine style retails for $400, and the Savonnette style retails for $420. This limited release strategy mirrors Swatch's successful approach with previous collaborations, such as the Omega MoonSwatch, which created high demand and long queues outside stores. The one-per-person rule is designed to ensure broad access and prevent reselling at inflated prices.

The Hype and History

The teaser campaign for the Royal Pop Collection has been doing a lot of heavy lifting for both Swatch and Audemars Piguet. Early footage showed colorful lanyards and looped straps—what you'd expect to clip to a pocket watch, not strap to a wrist. This did not stop countless social media accounts from posting AI image-generated versions of their dream designs, almost all of which were exact replicas of a Royal Oak wristwatch in bright colors and made almost entirely from Swatch's bioceramic composite. The pocket watch version might disappoint some who wanted a wristwatch, but it is a direct callback to a 1986 Swatch line whose watches could eject from their frames to function as brooches, bag clips, or pocket watches. This historical connection adds depth to the collaboration, positioning the Royal Pop as both a tribute to the past and a bold step into the future.