Swatch and Audemars Piguet are launching a collaborative pocket watch collection, priced at $400, set to release on May 16 in select Swatch stores.
New Collection Details
The collaboration combines Swatch's iconic 1980s Pop watches with Audemars Piguet's Royal Oak design, resulting in the Audemars Piguet x Swatch Royal Pop collection. The series includes eight colorful pocket watches, each featuring octagonal cases.
The collection offers two styles: the Lépine, with a crown at the 12 o'clock position for $400, and the Savonnette, with a crown at three o'clock, priced at $420. Both styles come with a calfskin leather lanyard, and additional accessories like a desk clock holder are also available.
Design and Features
Constructed with Bioceramic waterproof cases and scratch-resistant sapphire glass, the watches house a variant of Swatch's Sistem51 movement. This system, designed over a decade ago, allows for cost-effective mass production. The simplified version in the Royal Pop collection is a manual-wind design with a 90-hour power reserve, differing from the original's self-winding feature.
Previous Collaborations
Swatch is no stranger to luxury partnerships, having previously collaborated with Omega on the MoonSwatch collection and with Blancpain for the Scuba Fifty Fathoms lineup. Unlike Omega and Blancpain, which are part of the Swatch Group, Audemars Piguet remains an independent Swiss watchmaker, still managed by descendants of its founders, Jules Louis Audemars and Edward Auguste Piguet.
Market Impact
The independence of Audemars Piguet may increase the collection's allure among collectors and scalpers. To manage anticipated demand, Swatch will limit sales to one pocket watch per person per day, according to a report from Wired.
Source: https://www.theverge.com/tech/929625/swatch-audemars-piguet-x-swatch-royal-pop-pocket-watch
