Swatch is setting up a new collaboration for May 16, and the clues now point to Audemars Piguet. The latest teaser from the two brands flashes the word “Royal” in ’s distinctive font followed by “Pop,” while an earlier video from Swatch added more hints about the coming release.
Last night’s teaser used the line, “Introducing Audemars Piguet x Swatch, a disruptive collaboration that fuses joyful boldness and positive provocation with the art of haute horlogerie.” It also said, “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!”
A pair of newspaper advertisements with small bits of dials and a movement had appeared in over the weekend, and Swatch then posted a video on Wednesday morning pointing viewers toward its next partner. The new teaser also suggests the project may be tied to Swatch’s POP line, with “Royal Pop” appearing in the campaign and a lanyard hinting that the watch could take the form of a brightly colored Bioceramic pocket watch.
The first models are expected in white, pink, green, orange, yellow, red, light blue and navy, with a wide release set for Saturday, May 16. If that sounds familiar, it is because Swatch has done this before: the MoonSwatch became a phenomenon, shifting around two million units across 36 different models, even though the original line was sold in a limited number of boutiques around the world and some fans slept outside stores to buy one.
This time, the target is one of watchmaking’s most recognizable designs. Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak base model starts at around $30,000, and the watch is among Gérald Genta’s best-known creations; he also designed the Patek Philippe Nautilus. The new collaboration is being described as an affordable take on the Royal Oak, which is exactly the kind of move Swatch has used to pull luxury watchmaking into a broader audience.
That strategy has had mixed results. The MoonSwatch was a phenomenon, but Swatch’s second project with Blancpain and the Fifty Fathoms did not land with the same cultural force. In 2022, François-Henry Bennahmias said Swatch and Omega’s collaboration was a great idea, did not threaten Omega’s integrity, and helped educate younger buyers about the icons of watchmaking.
Swatch’s new campaign also reaches back to its own history. The company first released the POP watch line in 1986 with removable dials and fabric straps, then revived it in a smaller size in 2022. Now it appears to be folding that old idea into a much louder pitch: a Royal Oak-inspired release that could arrive in a burst of colors and at a price far below the standard model. For buyers, the answer is no longer whether Swatch and Audemars Piguet are working together. The real question is whether this one can repeat the MoonSwatch effect — and the answer, based on the scale of the rollout and the rush already building, is that it is built to try.
