The Swatch x Audemars Piguet Royal Pop collaboration is already showing signs of volatility on the secondary market, with resale prices dropping sharply from their initial peaks, while still holding above retail.
Early transactions surged in the immediate aftermath of Saturday’s release.
On Sunday, the multicolor-on-white Huit Blanc model sold for as much as 2,022 euros before falling to current listings around $1,295. A similar pattern played out with the blue Savonnette Lan Ba colorway, which reached 4,310 euros at its peak the same day and is now listed closer to 1,431 euros.
That fluctuation reflects the intensity surrounding the launch, which drew crowds and police presence in a number of locations around the world, including Paris, London and New York City.
On social media, scenes of chaos were captured in malls in Mumbai and Bangkok, with crowds jostling to reach the entrance of Swatch stores. Elsewhere, shutters remained down in locations in the U.K. and Northern France, according to netizens and local media outlets.
In the French capital, by 7:30 a.m. on Saturday, access gates leading to the Carrousel du Louvre, where Swatch has a store, had already been forced open. Outside, a crowd of at least 400 people had formed near the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, many dressed for cold weather and equipped with camping gear, with some attendees visibly tied to established resale circles.
Police presence was significant, with both uniformed and plainclothes officers monitoring the situation. At around 10 a.m., crowds were gradually moved inside, with attempts to bypass the queue resulting in removal by security. The atmosphere remained tense as the first purchases were completed. Individuals were seen trading cash for newly purchased watches and passing shopping bags to others waiting outside. Some returned to the queue shortly after, suggesting coordinated purchasing efforts.
Swatch x Audemars Piguet Royal Pop Savonnette Lan Ba
The Louvre store closed by early afternoon, around noon to 12:30 p.m., earlier than expected. Security later confirmed the location would remain closed until further notice that day. On the Avenue des Champs-Élysées, where Swatch has its Paris flagship, the store was closed in mid-afternoon, while another seven stores were announced as closed on Instagram.
Later on Saturday, Swatch posted on the Instagram account of several countries, urging would-be buyers “not to rush to [its] stores in larger numbers,” given the collection would “remain available for several months.”
“In some countries, queues of more than 50 people cannot be accepted and sales may need to be paused,” it continued.
According to the AFP, the Swatch Group said Monday there had been “problems in around 20 stores out of 220 in the world where Royal Pop was launched,” citing “extremely long” queues and insufficient efforts to contain the rush from “some shopping malls.”
Meanwhile, the already-viral collaboration became the source of AI parodies playing with the collection’s origins or on watch collectors versus cool kids tropes.
People wait in line to enter the Swatch store in Times Square in New York on May 16, ahead of the Audemars Piguet x Swatch Royal Pop watch release.
AFP via Getty Images
The Royal Pop collection itself marked a departure from traditional watch formats. Instead of wristwatches, the collaboration introduced a series of eight Bioceramic pocket watches that can be worn on a lanyard, attached to accessories or used as desk pieces. The design blends Swatch’s archival Pop concept with elements of Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak, including the octagonal bezel and textured dial.
Each model is powered by a hand-wound version of Swatch’s Sistem51 mechanical movement, offering more than 90 hours of power reserve. Technical features such as sapphire crystals and anti-magnetic components align the watches with standard expectations, even as the format pushes into less conventional territory.
On platforms like StockX, the collection initially recorded strong activity, with resale prices well above retail and more than 1,000 transactions logged within the first days. However, the rapid decline from peak pricing suggests that early demand may have been driven as much by short-term resale opportunity as by long-term collector interest.
