Swatch had the most important watch release of 2026 with the Royal Pop. There was unprecedented hype as soon as the product was announced, leading to a disastrous product launch. Is the hype dead? Is the Royal Pop attainable? From a watch nerd who wears both an Audemars Piguet and a Swatch, here are some thoughts on the Royal Pop.
People lost their minds over the release of the Royal Pop, the collab between the prestigious Audemars Piguet and the cheap and cheerful Swatch. The iconic and coveted Royal Oak was being re-imagined in combinations of colourful plastic (sorry, bioceramic!).
On one side, you had folks lining up for DAYS, fighting each other in line, to acquire the Royal Pop. On the other side, you had watch snobs moaning that this collab would damage Audemars Piguet’s reputation. Here’s the thing: AP’s reputation has BEEN damaged by social media, celebrity, and greed.
When I bought the Royal Oak ten years ago, nobody really cared about AP. I walked into an authorized dealer, tried on different variations, and negotiated a deep discount. At the time, the Royal Oak was an If-You-Know-You-Know watch. Appreciated by enthusiasts, but I could wear it wherever, and nobody gave a shit.
Then it got into the algorithm, celebrities started wearing Royal Oaks, AP was name-dropped in rap songs, and investors bought them up. They became impossible to get and started commanding astronomical prices on the aftermarket.
Quickly, the Royal Oak went from being a quirky, niche piece of haute horology to a symbol of exclusivity and influence. So, that’s great if you are a finance bro who wants to flex that you have the money and/or connections to get one. But it takes AP out of the conversation for most people.
And the culture is shifting. For a long time, social media has been dominated by THINGS. Exclusive, aspirational things like watches, supercars, purses, shoes. Now we are seeing an appetite for EXPERIENCE. The game of chasing exclusivity is tired. Now, people want to feel a part of something. To have a collective moment. To include and be included.
AP will recognize this cultural shift and understand how precarious their position is at this apex of exclusive and unattainable. This Swatch collab was an opportunity to bring themselves back to earth a little. To inject some FUN into the brand. To involve a broad audience.
Unfortunately, that purpose got fumbled. The mayhem around the release killed the vibe. The people who got their hands on the watches all seemed to be scalpers. Resellers were getting, reportedly, over $7K for a watch retailing for $525 CAD.
Currently, Chrono24, the leading marketplace for watch resellers, have have many Royal Pops listed for $1-2K CAD. Are they selling, though? I say: be patient, people. These will be available! In fact, if luck is on your side, it is possible that you could go to a Swatch boutique today and buy one. The last time I stopped in a Swatch store, there had been a shipment of Royal Pops arrive earlier in the day. They sold out immediately, but if I had been there earlier, I could have nabbed one. Chatting with the staff, I learned that stock came in often but intermittently, and was first-come, first-served.
What about the value of the original Royal Oak? Has the Royal Pop destroyed demand? The short answer is, definitely not. There was a similar outcry with the release of the MoonSwatch, Swatch’s re-imagining of the iconic Omega Speedmaster. But, since the release of the MoonSwatch, retail sales of the Speedmaster have gone up 50%! Prices, both retail and aftermarket, have gone up a couple thousand dollars. It’s a little early to track the impact it will have on Royal Oak models. But it’s also different because Audemars Piguet already has yearslong waitlists for Royal Oaks. If anything, this collab has strengthened the prestige of the Royal Oak, as a colourful plastic knock-off is able to generate the same aftermarket heat as the original. Royal Oak is a design that has endured for more than half a century, and it will continue to be desirable.
Also, the thing that a lot of uptight watch snobs seem to miss is that a collab with Swatch makes more sense for AP than almost any other brand. AP is avant-garde, and a little weird. The Royal Oak is an insane design, brutal and strange. It lends itself perfectly to all the bold colour combinations that Swatch brings to the table.
You know what else Swatch brings to the table? A very good product! I love the bioceramic material. It’s light, fun, resilient. The Sistem 51 movement is a neat piece of engineering. The designs are a good time! The three collabs that Swatch have done with prestige watchmakers are executed extremely well. Of the three, the one that is least talked about is hands down the best, in my not-so-humble opinion. The Blancpain Fifty Fathoms has a badass design, automatic movement, and a water resistance of–you guessed it–50 fathoms (300 ft). I picked up the Antarctic Ocean model as a fun, wear-anytime-watch. I didn’t expect to bond with it so strongly. It’s my snowboarding watch. I took it on a diving trip to Belize where it lived out its intended purpose, as well as bouncing around on dusty ATV rides and cliff jumping off waterfalls. It still looks as brand new as the day I bought it. It’s very satisfying on the wrist. Instead of chasing the Royal Pop, look at the Swatch Fifty Fathoms. It’s a real watch.
Which brings me to my one big gripe with the Royal Pop. Nobody actually wants a pocket watch. A watch is a tool and a statement. The lanyard thing turns it into a novelty, hanging next to a Labubu on someone’s purse. Of course, there’s already an avalanche of aftermarket bracelets becoming available. But Swatch should make them. They should be bioceramic, perfectly colour-matched and executed as well as the rest of the watch. My hot take: a Royal Oak is not a Royal Oak without the bracelet. The Royal Oak (and designer Gerald Genta) is credited with popularizing the integrated bracelet. As phenomenal as the dial is, it’s the bracelet which elevated the Royal Oak above anything else on the market at the time. And, in my not-so-humble opinion, the Royal Oak still does integrated bracelet the best; better than the Nautilus, Ingenieur, and all the other Genta-inspired pieces that followed it.
The Royal Pop is still cool, fun, worthy. It is the most important watch release of 2026, having generated more conversation and excitement than any other piece in recent times. If you want one, you should absolutely get one. Just be patient.
