All May, the watch world has been discussing only one thing — the Swatch and Audemars Piguet collaboration. Two Swiss giants unveiled a joint Royal Pop collection, and it turned out to be not wristwatches, as everyone expected, but pocket watches. The reaction on social media ranged from excitement to total bewilderment. If you’ve stopped wearing smartwatches and are looking for something unusual from the classic world — this might be your option. Let’s break down what these watches are, why there’s so much hype around them, and what TikTok has to do with it.
Pocket watches in 2026 — yes, that happens
What Is Swatch x Audemars Piguet Royal Pop
Royal Pop is a joint project by Swatch and Audemars Piguet, combining the design of the legendary Royal Oak and the aesthetics of the Swatch POP line from the 1980s. The name carries a double reference: Royal — to the iconic Royal Oak, Pop — to the vibrant Swatch POP line and the pop art movement. It’s concise and provocative. Simply put, Swatch pulled off an amazing collab with a luxury brand and everyone loved it.
The collection includes eight pocket watches made from bioceramic — Swatch’s signature material that is two-thirds ceramic and one-third bioplastic based on castor oil. All of them are designed in pop art style: bright colors, bold combinations, pronounced individuality. Each colorway is named in a different language — a nod to the eight facets of the Royal Oak’s octagonal bezel and its eight famous hexagonal screws.
The watches come in two formats:
- Lépine — an open pocket format with the crown at 12 o’clock. Shows only hours and minutes. Price — $400 (~29,700 rubles). Available in six colorways.
- Savonnette — a hunter-case format with a hinged cover and the crown at 3 o’clock. Features a small seconds subdial at 6 o’clock. Price — $420 (~31,200 rubles). Available in two colorways.
There’s an open version
And there’s a version with a closing cover
Case diameter — 40 mm, thickness — 8.4 mm. This is the most compact and thinnest of all Swatch collaborations. Each piece comes with a calfskin lanyard strap with contrast stitching — the watch can be worn around the neck, attached to a bag, clipped to a belt, or simply placed in a pocket. Swatch also offers a stand to turn Royal Pop into a desk clock. However, there’s no official way to wear them on the wrist — though enthusiasts with 3D printers are surely already working on an adapter.
The internal module can be popped out of the frame — hence the word Pop in the name — and inserted into a frame of a different color. Additional frames are sold separately at $45 each.
Why the New Swatch Watches Went Viral
The hype around the new Swatch is explained by several factors. First, this is Swatch’s first collaboration with an independent luxury brand. MoonSwatch in 2022 was a project within Swatch Group — Omega belongs to the same holding company. Blancpain x Swatch Scuba Fifty Fathoms — also an internal story. But Audemars Piguet is a completely independent manufacture with 150 years of history that has never given the Royal Oak silhouette to anyone outside its own production.
A huge number of colors and combinations are available to choose from
Second, the new Swatch watches are a completely different level. If Omega is accessible luxury, then AP is a price tag starting at $30,000. Getting the Royal Oak design for $400 — even in a pocket watch format — sounds almost like sacrilege. It’s precisely this contrast that sparked such a heated reaction.
Third, Swatch employed exactly the same marketing playbook as with MoonSwatch. Full-page teasers in The Guardian, mysterious posts on Instagram and TikTok, building intrigue — all ten days before the sales launch. On May 6, two words appeared across all platforms — Royal and Pop — set in a font that any collector would recognize instantly. That’s the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak font. Watch forums, Reddit, and TikTok exploded that same day.
By the time the product was revealed on May 12, the hype had reached its peak. Videos on social media already showed lines at Swatch boutiques around the world — and sales hadn’t even started yet. Rappers Soulja Boy, DDG, and Sexyy Red reacted to the announcement. The hashtag #RoyalPop has racked up millions of views on TikTok. People are literally standing in lines two days before the sales launch, just like it was with MoonSwatch in 2022.
Price of the New Swatch Watches in Russia
Want the new hyped Swatch for yourself? Don’t rush. Sales start on May 16, 2026. Offline only, at select Swatch boutiques only. No online sales at launch. The limit is one watch per person per day per store. In the US — 21 boutiques in 20 cities, including New York, Miami, Las Vegas, and Dallas. In the UK — 13 locations. Sales are also confirmed in Australia, France, Germany, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Singapore, UAE, and Japan. You can find the nearest store through the locator on swatch.com.
Royal Pop sales launch is coming very soon
Swatch hasn’t officially shipped products to Russia since 2022, so on launch day, buying Royal Pop will only be possible through contacts abroad. Given the MoonSwatch experience — expect 3-5x markups on the secondary market in the first weeks.
However, the situation isn’t hopeless. A month or two after the Royal Pop release, they’ll surely appear in Russia through parallel imports — both in major watch stores like KronosTime and others, and on marketplaces like Wildberries and Ozon. I predict that initially the price will be around 40-60 thousand rubles for the simplest version. And if there’s a shortage, prices could go even higher. But over time, pricing should stabilize at 30-40 thousand rubles. It was exactly the same with MoonSwatch: first a shortage and astronomical markups, then gradual market saturation. So if you’re not in a hurry — it makes sense to wait.
Pocket Watches in 2026: Is It Worth Buying
