Cover Audemars Piguet x Swatch Royal Pop
Audemars Piguet x Swatch Royal Pop
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Ahead of its release in stores this weekend, we reached out to an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak owner for his honest, unfiltered take on the Swatch “Pop” collaboration
Before Audemars Piguet (AP) and Swatch fully revealed the Royal Pop collection, we asked watch collector WK Chin, 58, for his honest, unfiltered takes. Chin owns two vintage Audemars Piguet timepieces, an ultra-thin perpetual calendar and a mid-size Royal Oak model. He didn’t know what the Royal Pop would look like when we posed these questions—only that it was coming.
Read more: Meet Royal Pop, the hotly anticipated Audemars Piguet x Swatch collab
What was your initial reaction when you first heard the news about the collab?
To be honest, indifferent. In the earliest teasers I scrolled past, it wasn’t immediately apparent to my dinosaur brain that it was a Royal Oak thing. I thought it was just a Swatch promo reviving the Pop series. When it dawned on me that this could be an AP collab, a brand outside of the Swatch Group, it definitely got my attention. But thinking about it, it was also not terribly surprising given that AP has always been the audacious, edgy one in the Holy Trinity (of watches that also include Patek Philippe and Vacheron Constantin). Associating themselves with popular culture seems to be their recent approach to try and contemporarise its deep-rooted brand personality.
Above WK Chin (Photo: Fady Younis)
WK Chin (Photo: Fady Younis)
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On a scale of “cool for the culture” to “brand suicide”, where do you land?
Neither. I was never personally a fan of the Omega and Blancpain collaborations. With the MoonSwatch, for example, I wasn’t keen on it being a facsimile of the Moonwatch case. I thought it would have been better if Swatch had made more effort—maybe thoughtful tweaks to the case, or quirky Easter Egg differentiations, or leaving that unnecessary ‘Dot Over 90’ bezel detail exclusive to the coveted OG. Mostly, I wanted Swatch to exercise more creativity beyond just colours, with more tongue-in-cheek ideas. But I loved the MoonSwatch word play, the planets for the battery covers.
This time, all signs point to (the AP x Swatch collab) being a pocket/necklace watch—the communications are saying it will be a new way to “wear time”. A complete form factor rethink is promising. Also, there’s a far bigger gap in price point between Swatch and AP versus Swatch and Omega. We might even see AP gain “good sport” brownie points.
See also: How the Omega Seamaster went from a dress watch to a James Bond classic
Above Audemars Piguet x Swatch Royal Pop collection comprises eight references
Audemars Piguet x Swatch Royal Pop collection comprises eight references
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Do you think this collab will help AP attract a new, younger audience?
Maybe there will be greater visibility for the Royal Oak—not that AP is sorely lacking in that. Without knowing more at this pre-drop time, the bigger beneficiary is likely to be Swatch. There will surely be a sales spike for Swatch, but the long term could tell a different story. It’s also notable that Omega and Blancpain did not seem to register any sustainable and verifiable benefit from their collabs.
Will you get a Royal Pop watch? Perhaps as a gift for someone?
I’m excited to see how it will be executed. I’m certainly not closed to the idea if it’s done well.
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Brian Cheong leads the watch (Tatler GMT) and jewellery content at Tatler Malaysia, combining sharp editorial insight with years of luxury lifestyle experience. A seasoned journalist in luxury watches based in Kuala Lumpur, Brian had previously helmed World of Watches, Men's Folio and Prestige Malaysia.
