Swatch and Audemars Piguet have officially pulled back the curtain on the Royal Pop Collection. And the first images do not disappoint.
Eight pocket watches that blend the legendary Royal Oak design with Swatch‘s playful POP watches from the 1980s.
At the heart of the collection is a world first. Swatch has reimagined its signature SISTEM51 movement as a hand-wound caliber. That’s really cool. The SISTEM51 has always been fully automated in production – so reworking it for hand-winding is a genuine technical milestone, dressed up here with a Pop Art flourish.
The watches come in two classic pocket watch styles: Lépine and Savonnette. The colour combinations are bold and fun – think pinks, turquoises, yellows, crisp whites and deep blacks. This is not a collection for the shy retiring type, and they’re actually much more fun than the AI renders.
Each watch features a display caseback showing off the movement, a small seconds dial, and the AP x Swatch logo printed cleanly on the dial. The Pop module clips directly into the frame, which is a satisfying detail when you see it in action.
One quirk worth noting: the watch sits sideways in its frame, with the crown at 3 o’clock pointing upward. It looks a little odd at first, but it makes sense for pocket watch wear – typically on a lanyard.
Speaking of which, a lanyard appears to be the intended way to carry these. What’s notably absent from everything shown so far is any kind of wrist strap. Whether that’s an option further down the line, or simply not part of this collection at all, Swatch hasn’t said.
The Royal Pop Collection goes on sale on May 16 at selected Swatch stores worldwide. Pricing hasn’t been officially confirmed yet.
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