Audemars Piguet × Swatch: the debate
The watch world wasn’t ready. Not ready at all. Having turned Omega’s Speedmaster into a global phenomenon with the MoonSwatch, Swatch has struck again where no one really dared to look: Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak. Yes, THE Royal Oak. The one that some collectors regard almost as a ‘sacred relic’ of Swiss watchmaking. The result? A riot of colour christened Royal Pop. Eight bioceramic pocket watches, bursting with colour, inspired by Pop Art and the legendary Swatch POP watches of the 1980s.
The Royal Oak slips from the wrist
This is probably the most surprising — and most brilliant — aspect of this collaboration: Audemars Piguet and Swatch didn’t just reinterpret an ‘affordable’ Royal Oak. They completely turned the concept on its head. The Royal Pop is not a traditional wristwatch.
It is a hybrid pocket watch, suspended from a leather strap, designed to be worn around the neck, clipped to a bag or placed on a desk like a desk clock. Put simply: the Royal Oak is stepping down from its pedestal to have a bit of fun. The message is crystal clear. Swatch is questioning the ‘museum-like’ reverence that some people now accord to luxury watchmaking. Here, the Royal Oak becomes a pop, playful, almost cheeky object once more — exactly in the spirit of Gérald Genta in 1972, when the original had already scandalised the industry with its octagonal bezel and visible screws. Remember.
A pop-inspired ‘acid-washed’ Royal Oak
Visually, this collection is a riot of colour. Bubblegum pink, electric yellow, cobalt blue, lime green, graphic black… Each model looks as though it could have been designed by Andy Warhol. All eight models feature the Royal Oak’s iconic octagonal case with its eight hexagonal screws. The “Petite Tapisserie” dial, Audemars Piguet’s signature since 1972, is naturally included. But Swatch takes things a step further.
On the Huit Blanc model, each of the eight screws on the bezel is a different colour. On the Otg Roz, a turquoise dial is paired with a canary-yellow bezel and a candy-pink small seconds sub-dial. As for the Orenju Hachi, its navy blue dial accented with orange almost evokes a 1990s Sega console. To distinguish them, six models adopt the “Lépine” style with the winding crown at 12 o’clock, and two “Savonnette”-style versions with the crown at 3 o’clock and a small seconds dial at 6 o’clock. It’s brilliant. It’s over the top for some. And that’s precisely why it works.
And what about the mechanics of it all?
Behind the visual extravaganza, Swatch has not skimped on the mechanics. The collection features a new manual-winding version of the SISTEM51 movement, incorporating 15 active patents, a power reserve of over 90 hours and an anti-magnetic Nivachron™ balance spring. The movement, which is assembled entirely by machine, is visible through a transparent sapphire crystal case back.
And this is where one of the key features of this collection comes into view. The barrel drum – the watch’s power reserve – indicates the remaining power reserve. When the barrel chambers are grey, the coils of the mainspring are visible: the watch needs winding. Conversely, when the colour is gold, the spring is compressed, indicating that the watch is wound. And yes, even the ‘purists’ will have to admit it: technically, this collaboration is far from being a mere marketing gimmick.
“It’s sacrilege”: the social media war
But as soon as the first images were unveiled, social media turned into a battleground. On Instagram, TikTok and watch forums, reactions were split into two camps. On one side: the enthusiasts, fascinated by the bold move of turning one of the world’s most coveted watches into a colourful, accessible pop-culture item.
On the other hand: the guardians of the watchmaking temple, horrified at the thought that Audemars Piguet had allowed Swatch to turn the Royal Oak into a multicoloured pendant. The comments came thick and fast, of course! Within hours, the hashtag #RoyalPop was everywhere, triggering millions of views, memes, videos and queues already announced outside Swatch shops from this Saturday, 16 September.
Swatch has grasped something that the luxury sector sometimes overlooks
The watch industry loves to talk about heritage, tradition and passing on the craft. Swatch, on the other hand, talks about immediate emotion. The Swiss brand has once again got there before everyone else: by 2026, a watch will no longer be content simply to tell the time.
It’s meant to provoke a reaction. Spark a debate. Become a topic of conversation, of desire, of rejection or of fascination. The Royal Pop does exactly that. And ultimately, perhaps the most ironic thing about this story is that this outrageously pop collaboration actually respects the Royal Oak’s original DNA far more than we care to admit. Because as early as 1972, the Royal Oak was a provocation.
€385 for the ‘Lépine’ style models
€400 for the ‘Savonnette’ versions
View the technical specifications for the Royal Pop.
