Outside a Swatch store in New York’s Times Square, hundreds huddled under umbrellas and folding chairs as overnight rain fell. Portable chargers glowed in the dark. Metal barriers snaked down the block. Similar scenes played out in Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands, Osaka sidewalks, London, Bangkok, and Zurich. People camped for days for a watch that retails around $400.
This range of watch was introduced to the market on May 16, 2026, by the brand named Audemars Piguet x Swatch. The name of the product is called “Royal Pop.” This range of watch consists of eight pieces of Bioceramic pocket watches with royal design elements. It includes bright colors of blue and green along with octagonal shape of the case.
A tweet from X.
Videos shared by Mario Nawfal on X captured the scale. One clip from Singapore’s Mothership showed a long indoor line at Marina Bay Sands with people sitting behind barriers, resting on the floor, and checking phones. Another from watch creator @souleywatches in Osaka featured daytime crowds with umbrellas and chairs along the sidewalk.
“This is crazy,”
The creator said.
Reports confirm similar overnight and multi-day lines in New York (some starting days early with professional line-sitters), London, Bangkok, and Zurich. Some stores implemented one-watch-per-person limits and faced crowd control issues, including queue-jumping reports and temporary cancellations for safety.
Many locations sold out quickly. Listings appeared almost immediately on eBay, StockX, and Chrono24, with early flips reaching thousands of dollars far above the $400 Lépine and $420 Savonnette retail prices. This echoes the Omega x Swatch MoonSwatch craze but with added debate.
Some critics called it overhyped, noting it is a pocket watch rather than a full wristwatch. Purists questioned the dilution of Audemars Piguet’s prestige. Others praised the move for making luxury watch culture accessible to younger buyers.
“It brings joyful boldness,”
Swatch Group statements highlighted.
This launch reflects today’s consumer culture where internet hype, scarcity tactics, and social media turn a fun $400 accessory into a speculative asset. It shows the overlap of luxury branding with viral trends and the challenges of AI-driven misinformation shaping real-world demand. Whether values hold or cool like past drops, the “Royal Pop” has already succeeded in generating global conversation.
