Discussion
Marc Naidu, known as this_hobby_of_hours, offers a compelling analysis of the Audemars Piguet x Swatch Royal Pop collaboration, framing it as a strategic response to a contemporary crisis in the Swiss watch industry. He draws parallels to the original Swatch's role in revitalizing Swiss watchmaking, arguing that AP's bold move is a necessary step to engage a new generation of collectors. Naidu's insights prompt a lively community discussion on the collaboration's implications for luxury brands and their future audience.
Community verdict in brief: The community is divided on the AP x Swatch Royal Pop, with some praising its audacious marketing and affordability, while others question its appeal as a plastic watch or its long-term impact on luxury collecting. โ full Key Points below.
Op-Ed: Quartz saved the Swiss watch industry ... Yes, the humble swatch quartz watch that many of us grew up with helped spur a revival of an ailing Swiss watch industry. Lebanese-born Nicholas Hayek Senior was the CEO of the SWATCH Group and he realized that the Swiss watch industry needed to connect to a younger audience. To build the habit of collecting... for aspiring collectors to not stop at just one watch. To build sets. A series.
Forum Notes:The AP x Swatch collaboration has a name: the Royal Pop. It is not a wristwatch. The Royal Pop takes the form of a pocket watch on a lanyard โ a design that references the Swatch Pop and Clac product lines rather than anything in Audemars Piguet's catalogue. The tamagotchi comparisons from members here are not entirely unfair, and they get to the heart of what this collaboration actually is: a fashion object that borrows AP's octagonal Royal Oak DNA and places it in a format designed for a younger, style-led audience.
The strategic logic behind this is more interesting than the product itself. AP's marketing team does not make casual decisions. The Royal Oak turned 50 in 2022 and spent the following years crossing over into streetwear and pop culture in ways that divided the traditional collector base. The Royal Pop is an extension of that positioning โ a way of keeping AP relevant to an audience that admires the brand but cannot participate in it at the level of a ยฃ20,000 Royal Oak. Whether that audience eventually converts into watch buyers is the long-term bet AP is making.
For existing collectors, the consensus here is that the Royal Pop is easy to ignore. It occupies a product category entirely separate from mechanical horology, and the secondary market for Royal Oak references appears unmoved by the collaboration. The more interesting question is whether AP's willingness to take this kind of risk โ as David Allen notes above โ reflects confidence in the brand's core equity, or signals a softening of the exclusivity that made the Royal Oak desirable in the first place.
Key Points from the Discussion (WatchProSite editorial summary of community replies)
I really like the idea of "mise en abyme" ! an (very) expensive steel watch reinterpreted as a (affordable) plastic gadget! It takes a lot of self-deprecation to do it (and marketing sense indeed). However, would I be a buyer? Clearly not, but I'm certain it will bring happiness to many
It looks like a tamagotchi. So no.
I guess, put them on a strap and we'll see now it fares. That being said, it really doesn't matter that much to me because I've never been in the market for a plastic watch. I was just sort of shocked at the concept of a necklace watch. Or pocket watch.
To produce a necklace watch?
I like the release. And I like that AP takes risks. It's no skin off my back. I'll enjoy my RO nonetheless.
And awesome shot. Is that a 15202 salmon dial?
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