The line outside Swatch’s Soho store in New York was already snaking down the block on May 15, 2026, even though the new Swatch x Audemars Piguet “Royal Pop” pocket watches wouldn’t officially go on sale until the next day. The air was thick with anticipation—and, according to The Strategist, a noticeable cloud of weed—as dozens of eager buyers camped out, hoping to snag one of the most buzzed-about watch releases in years. For some, it was their first foray into watch collecting; for others, it was a chance to own a piece of a luxury brand that’s typically out of reach.
Swatch, known for its colorful and affordable Swiss watches, has spent the past few years shaking up the luxury watch world with headline-grabbing collaborations. After making waves with Omega and Blancpain, Swatch turned its sights to Audemars Piguet, the storied Swiss house whose Royal Oak watches usually start at $25,000. The result: the Swatch x Audemars Piguet “Royal Pop” collection, a set of eight pocket watches that meld the Royal Oak’s iconic design—think gridlike tapisserie dials and octagonal bezels with signature screws—with Swatch’s own Sistem51 mechanical movement.
The only way to buy one of these limited-edition pocket watches? In person, at select Swatch locations. In New York, that meant either Times Square or Soho, but for many, Soho seemed like the better bet. Dariel Nunez, who admitted he wasn’t usually a "watch type of guy," had been waiting, sleeping, eating, and even playing Pokémon in line since 10 a.m. on Tuesday. "AP is a good way to start a watch collection," Nunez told The Strategist, explaining he planned to wear his new pocket watch as a necklace. For some, the appeal was simply owning something exclusive and limited—like Nunez’s Casio G-Shock x Krink, which now fetches $700 on resale platform StockX.
Resale, in fact, is already a major part of the Royal Pop story. According to StockX, someone managed to purchase the entire Swatch x Audemars Piguet “Royal Pop” watch and lanyard collection for a jaw-dropping $8,410 before the official release. By 11 a.m. on May 15, more than 100 of the watches had already changed hands on the platform—even though they technically weren’t available to the public yet. The Savonnette Lan Ba, Huit Blanc, and Ocho Negro models led the pack, with 18, 8, and 6 sales respectively. Lanyards, too, were hot commodities, with the Ocho Negro, Blaue Acht, and Huit Blanc drawing the most attention.
Prices on the secondary market tell their own story. The average resale price for a Royal Pop lanyard was $245, while the watches themselves were fetching an average of $905—nearly triple the expected retail price. The feeding frenzy echoed the hype of sneaker drops and the original Moonswatch release, drawing comparisons to Stanley tumblers and even the viral Labubu figurine, as Gear Patrol noted. The culture around the launch was unmistakably feverish, with lines reminiscent of those for the latest must-have kicks or tech gadgets.
But not everyone was thrilled about the democratization of Audemars Piguet’s luxury cachet. Musician DDG took to a livestream to vent his frustration, lamenting that after spending $200,000 on a rare AP watch, he now had to watch the brand’s designs become accessible for a fraction of the price. "Just seeing this makes me want to sell my AP," DDG said, visibly annoyed. "AP, what’s up, man. What’s going on? I done spent $200,000 on one of your watches. You telling me I could have waited until 2026 and spent $300 and got the same effect? The hoes can’t tell the difference." He continued, "That shit ain’t right. It’s nas out that really paid resale. I could see if I was getting my watches for fucking retail. I’m getting hit over the head for another $20,000 just to rock y’all watch." DDG even warned that if the collaboration became too popular, he’d stop wearing his AP altogether: "Y’all going to make a billion dollars off this shit. I can’t rock no AP no more, bruh. If this shit go up too much or gets too hot, I’m selling my shit." On social media, he doubled down, writing, "Only nas who collect watches understand my reasoning for frustration. My AP watch is rare & discontinued, so I HAVE to pay resale. That’s like buying a Ferrari & they collab with Honda & make a Ferrari Civic for $30k… but my bad for pissing y’all lil n***as off! get ya AP!"
The controversy didn’t end there. Many longtime fans of both Swatch and Audemars Piguet wondered what the collaboration would mean for the legacy of these two iconic Swiss brands. As Gear Patrol reported, the Royal Pop was the most polarizing watch release of the year, with passionate arguments on both sides. Some praised the move as a bold, joyful fusion of high and low, making the art of haute horlogerie accessible to a new generation. Others worried that the prestige of Audemars Piguet could be diluted by such a widely available, affordable product.
Back in line at Soho, the atmosphere was mostly relaxed, but there was a sense of uncertainty—especially as night fell. College students Javier Flores and Bleart Ademi, who’d only been waiting for about three hours when they spoke to The Strategist, joked that “we’re like the 150th person [on line] because they’re gonna bring a bunch of friends.” Flores, who was eyeing the light-blue Lan Ba model to add to his collection of Fossil and Cassio watches, admitted, “I really like the Royal Oak design, so I just thought it was a good time to get into some watches.” Chan Briggs, a Tissot owner near the front of the line, shared a different strategy: he was paying someone to hold his spot overnight. "There’s a show called Squid Games. I’d say this line is the closest thing to that dynamic," Briggs quipped. "You don’t know how they’re going to act at night. So I haven’t been sleeping out here." Instead, he kept things simple: "Weed and water."
Rumors swirled about how many pocket watches would be available—some said 500 at the Soho location—but one thing was certain: whether buyers planned to keep their Royal Pop pocket watches or flip them for a profit, the sense of excitement was palpable. As Briggs put it, “AP, you don’t see yourself affording that, obviously. And we didn’t care about Swatch last week. So consumerism is very interesting.”
The Swatch x Audemars Piguet Royal Pop collaboration, announced with much fanfare on Instagram as “a disruptive collaboration that fuses joyful boldness and positive provocation with the art of haute horlogerie,” has already changed the conversation in the watch world. It’s a collision of exclusivity and accessibility, tradition and trend, that has everyone—from diehard collectors to casual fans—talking, waiting, and, in some cases, fuming. With the official sale now underway, the only certainty is that the Royal Pop has made an indelible mark on both brands—and on the wrists (or necks) of a new generation of watch lovers.