Collectors Crazy for New Swatch Collaboration
A new Swatch watch, crested in collaboration with a luxury company, has collectors rushing stores and resellers demanding high prices online.
Collaborations with artists and designers have turned Swatch watches from 1980s kids’ accessories into hot collectibles. The latest collaboration may be the biggest of all. Working with luxury watchmaker Audemars Piguet, Swatch launched the Royal Pop pocket watch, whose debut on May 16 drew crowds and chaos to stores around the world.
Swatch announced the collaboration on May 13. The watch is named for Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak pocket watch and the Pop Art sensibility of Swatch’s plastic wristwatches. Available in eight bright colors, the Royal Pop is made of Swatch’s innovative bioceramic material. It is priced at $400, in contrast to the Royal Oak’s typical $30,000.
According to the announcement from Swatch, the watch is available only in select stores, and “only one watch per person, per day, and per selected store may be purchased.” This hasn’t stopped crowds from camping out in lines and rushing into stores, with some news outlets reporting that brawls have broken out. Resellers are asking for thousands of dollars for the watches online.
USA Today has reported that Swatch stores have closed in response to the chaos. Swatch has issued a request on its website that customers “not rush to our stores in large numbers to acquire this product,” warning that “In some countries, queues of more than 50 people cannot be accepted, and sales may need to be paused.”
