What is the Audemars Piguet x Swatch 'Royal Pop' watch? Breaking down the new collab clues
The Swiss brand has been teasing a collab with the luxury watchmaker
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LAST WEEK, a pair of mysterious adverts appeared in The Guardian teasing a new release from the Swatch Group. Given that the cryptic visuals closely mirrored the original rollout of the wildly popular MoonSwatch in 2022, people naturally started to speculate about a new collaboration. But who would it be this time?
Now we finally have our answer: Audemars Piguet. Specifically, an affordable new take on the marque’s legendary Royal Oak.
“Introducing Audemars Piguet x Swatch, a disruptive collaboration that fuses joyful boldness and positive provocation with the art of haute horlogerie,” reads a new teaser released by the brands last night, alongside the words ‘Royal Pop’. “Two Swiss icons come together to reimagine a complete new way to wear time and bring future generations to the world of mechanical watches. Stay tuned!”
So, where does “pop” come into all of this – and what could it mean for Swatch’s take on AP’s most popular model?
Well, it’s clearly a reference to the customisable POP watch line that Swatch released in 1986, featuring dials that could be removed (or should that be popped?) from their 47mm frames and fabric straps to clip onto clothes and keychains. The POP range was revived in 2022 in a smaller size – and judging by the teasers so far, it looks like the AP collaboration will take its design cues from the much-loved retro collection.
Most notably, Swatch also teased a lanyard – suggesting that the new collaboration will take the form of a brightly coloured, Bioceramic pocket watch. Thanks to the various teasers, we also know the colour set that the first models will most likely arrive in: white, pink, green, orange, yellow, red, light blue and navy.
How customisable its eventual form will be (and whether you’ll actually be able to wear it as a traditional wristwatch) will be revealed before its wide release on Saturday, May 16.
For the MoonSwatch – which has so far shifted around two million units across 36 different models – Swatch released a limited number of the original line-up in a selection of boutiques around the world. Some fans even slept outside the stores, hoping to get their hands on the hypey collab. Will Swatch follow the same approach this time around? We’d get the camping chair out of the garage, just in case.
This article first appeared on Esquire UK
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