I went to London for the Audemars Piguet x Swatch ROYAL POP launch… and left surprisingly disappointed.
I’ve been one of the biggest defenders of the AP x Swatch collaboration. I genuinely think the ROYAL POP is a smart move for both brands, and from a design perspective, I still think this collaboration is fun, playful, and very “Swatch.” But after experiencing the launch in person, seeing the queues, flippers, crowd tensions, and chaos surrounding the release, I think Swatch may have handled this horribly.
In this video, I break down:
* My experience at the AP x Swatch ROYAL POP launch in London
* Why I think Swatch got this release wrong
* The role of watch flippers and resale culture
* Whether hype culture is hurting watch collecting
* Why this felt different to the MoonSwatch launch
* Crowd issues, safety concerns, and accessibility problems
* Why I still think the product itself is actually great
* The bigger problem with how hype watches are sold
I never thought I’d say this… but I found myself defending flippers more than Swatch.
This whole experience made me question whether collaborations like the MoonSwatch, Blancpain x Swatch Scuba Fifty, and now the AP x Swatch ROYAL POP are ultimately a net positive or negative for watch enthusiasts.
Is this good for the watch community? Or is hype culture ruining the joy of collecting?
Let me know your thoughts in the comments.
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