About 20 Swatch stores worldwide closed over safety concerns as crowds formed to buy the $400-$420 pocket watches
Credit: Swatch
Swatch was forced to close stores and urge customers to stay home after the launch of its Royal Pop pocket watch collection with Audemars Piguet drew large crowds, triggered fights, and led to police intervention at locations across the U.S. and Europe over the weekend.
Each of the eight models carries a price tag of either $400 or $420, merging Audemars Piguet's signature octagonal Royal Oak bezel with Swatch's pop-art sensibility. The company's spokesperson told reporters Monday that roughly 20 locations out of 220 worldwide encountered problems at opening, citing overwhelmed mall infrastructure and unexpectedly long lines, and confirmed that order had been restored.
In the U.S., at least 19 Swatch outlets closed, according to NBC News, including locations at the SoHo store in New York, the Houston Galleria, Lenox Square $SQ mall in Atlanta, and the King of Prussia mall in Pennsylvania. Videos posted online showed police blocking mall entrances and, in one case, escorting employees out of a barricaded store near Chicago that had not received its shipment at all. According to CNN, a police officer in Long Island appeared to use pepper spray on a crowd, and police in both the U.S. and U.K. made arrests. Swatch canceled launch events in India and Dubai.
"To ensure the safety of both our customers and staff in Swatch stores, we kindly ask you not to rush to our stores in large numbers to acquire this product," Swatch said in a statement. Swatch's statement noted that individual markets were empowered to turn away lines exceeding 50 customers and halt transactions if necessary. On its website and in public statements, Swatch repeatedly stressed that buyers need not panic: the Royal Pop range is an open-edition release with a shelf life of several months.
Despite the one-per-customer purchase limit, the watches flooded resale platforms. One buyer on StockX paid upward of $25,000 for all eight watches together on launch weekend, according to Reuters. Individual watches reached almost $6,000 on watch marketplace Chrono24, according to CNN. Unofficial vendors spotted an ancillary market, advertising aftermarket straps designed to mount the pocket watches on a wrist, with prices starting above $50.
Since the partnership went public, Swatch's online traffic has climbed into the millions of clicks, and the brand claims the rollout has accumulated 11 billion social media impressions. The company has not disclosed Royal Pop sales figures.
Rather than a traditional bracelet, the watches hang from a calfskin lanyard; the lineup spans eight color options, a figure chosen to echo the eight sides of the Royal Oak's iconic case. Observers were quick to recall the 2022 MoonSwatch release with Omega, another Swatch collaboration that similarly sent shoppers queuing around city blocks. Audemars Piguet CEO Ilaria Resta said the project was motivated by "the joy and boldness it represents" and its potential to bring mechanical watchmaking to a broader and younger audience, according to Audemars Piguet.
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