Revolution
Results for Swatch
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How Nicolas Hayek\'s ASUAG/SSIH merger (1983) and Swatch brand launch (March 1983) rescued Swiss watchmaking from the quartz crisis.
Largest Swiss watch employer (~17,000 staff). 18 brands from Breguet/Blancpain at the top to Swatch at entry. ETA SA + Nivarox-FAR. Hayek family controls.
Mid-May the Swatch x AP launch turned into chairs flying in Milan, pepper spray in New York, and a Utrecht shop owner finding poop on his doorstep. A month later you barely hear about it. Here's how Swatch killed the chaos without ever announcing it.
Swatch's plastic Royal Oak needs an actual strap the moment you get it home. Four makers doing colour-matched integrated-lug Royal Pop straps in leather, rubber, canvas and everything else.
Revolution
Revolution
The Audemars Piguet × Swatch Royal Pop Is Here
SJX Watches
The Surprising Royal Pop from Swatch and Audemars Piguet
Audemars Piguet (AP) and Swatch have teamed up to launch the Royal Pop, a series of lanyard-borne pocket swatches in eight pop art-inspired colourways set to hit stores on May 16th. It also debuts new manually wound Sistem 51 movements, including one with small seconds, to capture the pocket watch feel. This could be seen as AP having a little fun on a project set in motion by a Swatch-obsessed former CEO, or long-term thinking to cultivate the next generation of customers. Initial thoughts I imagine ambivalence will define the general reaction to the Royal Pop, as it should. A pop art-inspired pocket Swatch is a challenging product to casual watch buyers and enthusiasts alike. And I mean that as praise — it would have been much easier to go the MoonSwatch or Scuba Fifty Fathoms route, but much less interesting. Ref. SSX03L101N. Case in point, a non-enthusiast friend texted me over the weekend expressing interest in the Royal Pop under the common assumption that it would take after the MoonSwatch. In short, he was expecting a plastic Royal Oak. He was less enthusiastic — but not entirely put off — when I asked him how he’d feel about a manually wound pocket watch. Ref. SSX03R100N. While my favourite watches are overwhelmingly pocket watches (or pocket chronometers), I can’t see myself wearing one regularly, be it a Swatch Pop or a Nicole Nielsen tourbillon. I do, however, see myself attaching an Otg Roz Royal Pop to my keychain or workbag. Considering the recent ...
Time+Tide
Audemars Piguet x Swatch join forces for the Royal Pop, a rule-breaking pocket watch for the masses
The cat is out of the bag, and the Royal Pop is here, a new bioceramic pocket watch based on the iconic Pop watch, and the AP Royal Oak
Worn & Wound
Get in Line: the Swatch x Audemars Piguet “Royal Pop” Arrives this Weekend
Well, it’s here. After a great deal of speculation, Swatch and Audemars Piguet’s new “Royal Pop” collaboration has been unveiled. Only a few years ago, a partnership between Swatch, known mostly for inexpensive, colorful quartz watches that often serve as a gateway to a life of watch enthusiasm, and Audemars Piguet, a “Holy Trinity” brand that makes the Royal Oak, one of the most exclusive and coveted watches in the world, would have felt impossible. But the MoonSwatch changed all that, and now it seems like just about anything is possible in the world of high/low collaborations. The first thing to point out is the very obvious fact that this is not a wristwatch. These are, in fact, pocket watches, in bioceramic Royal Oak shaped cases. There are eight watches in total in two different styles, and they are powered by manually sound SISTEM51 movements. The Royal Oak design motifs are easy to identify here. Each has the expected “Petite Tapisserie” dial that the Royal Oak is known for, as well as an 8 sided bezel. They even included the hexagonal screws. Let’s go through the multiple variants of the Royal Pop. First we have the “Lépine” style case, which has a crown located at the 12:00 position. There are six colorways of the Lépine style case: Otto Rosso (pink and red), Huit Blanc (white with rainbow accents), Green Eight (green on green), Orenji Hachi (navy with orange accents), Blaue Acht (lime green and light blue) and Ocho Negro (black and ...
Video
Watch Hype Cycle is BROKEN | Watch News | LIVE
Does anyone care about the AP X Swatch anymore? It feels like the "luxury" watch industry has been playing a different game and I think a lot of enthusiasts and people who love watches are getting sick of this game. T...
Fratello
Audemars Piguet × Swatch Royal Pop - The Most Unexpected Swatch Collaboration Yet
After weeks of teasing, today, we got an unexpected embargo lift on the Audemars Piguet × Swatch Royal Pop. Only a very few AI mock-ups were somewhat close to what Swatch has just released. And the young guys we saw on TikTok hoping to be sporting a very affordable Royal Oak on the wrist (or […] Visit Audemars Piguet × Swatch Royal Pop — The Most Unexpected Swatch Collaboration Yet to read the full article.
Teddy Baldassarre
The AP X Swatch Royal Pop: The Royal Oak Gets Swatch-ified With Eight New Pocket Watches
The duo plays to their strengths with a fleet of Bioceramic pocket watches packed with a new movement and endless styling possibilities. More
Hodinkee
Introducing: The Swatch x Audemars Piguet "Royal Pop" Collaboration Is Here, And It's Not A Wristwatch
What We Know The cat is out of the bag on what is likely to be the biggest watch news of the year. The Swatch x Audemars Piguet "Royal Pop" just launched, ahead of its official availability on May 16, 2026, at selected Swatch stores. There are no wristwatches here, just eight unique pocket watches in two different styles, cased in brightly colored Royal Oak-shaped bioceramic cases, powered by manually wound mechanical SISTEM51 movements. Eight watches, for each side of the iconic Royal-Oak bezel. All the watches are instantly recognizable as Royal Oak-inspired. They have a "Petite Tapisserie" dial and a Royal Oak octagonal bezel with eight hexagonal screws. Every watch comes with a 40mm case (without the clip) and measures 44.2mm by 53.2mm when mounted in the clip. The thickness is 8.4mm. The hands and indices on all watches feature Grade-A Super-LumiNova. The watches can be dropped in your pocket, worn in the pocket, or popped into a holder attached to a calfskin lanyard (in three lengths), attached to a bag, or placed in a removable stand that lets the watch function as a desk clock. Swatch and AP say this will change the way we wear watches, breaking free from the wrist (suggesting the expected wristwatch collaboration is unlikely at the moment). The new Swatch x Audemars Piguet "Royal Pop" comes in two main variants. There's the "Lépine" style, where the crown is at 12 o'clock on the pocket watch, which come in six varieties: Otto Rosso (pink case and dial with red ...
Monochrome
In-Depth - Everything You Need to Know about the Audemars Piguet x Swatch Royal Pop (Live Photos & Video)
For the past few days, if you’re even remotely into watches, your Instagram feed has probably been flooded with speculations about Swatch’s next big collaboration. Ever since the first teasers dropped, the rumours have only grown louder. And, honestly, the clues were becoming impossible to ignore. Swatch would be teaming up with Audemars Piguet, and […]
Hodinkee
It's Official: Swatch and Audemars Piguet Are Planning A Collaboration Watch
Swatch is planning a collaboration with Audemars Piguet, expected to be one of the most significant and talked-about watch releases of the year. Swatch began teasing the tie-up last week with social media posts featuring the distinctive font associated with AP's iconic Royal Oak model and the words 'Royal' and 'Pop.' That led to hordes of speculation online that the brand was preparing a collaboration with AP. And then, over the weekend, the two marques confirmed that indeed they would be releasing the new product on May 16. Many Swatch boutiques, including its main store in Geneva, are displaying boxes or chests (presumably holding the watch models) promoting the new Royal Pop collab, in much the same way they did with the Omega and Blancpain collaborations ahead of the launches. An Audemars Piguet X Swatch chest in the window at a Swatch boutique in Geneva. So, what will the Audemars Piguet x Swatch watch be? Well, we simply don't know at this point, but there are plenty of clues suggesting what it could be. The 'Pop' model line from Swatch has been around for decades and has served as a fashion-forward way to reimagine timekeeping and watches. First introduced around 1986, the Swatch 'Pop' watches could be removed from their straps and 'popped' into various accessory holders. These ranged from pocket watch holders, chains, and lanyards to refrigerator magnets and even a RECCO-branded accessory holder/transmitter for avalanche safety. A current, Swatch 'Pop' pocke...
Video
New Hamilton Khaki Mechanical 36mm: The Best Watch Under $750 Of 2026? + What They All Missed
The world may have gone crazy for the AP Swatch collaboration, but what they really missed is this Hamilton Khaki Mechanical in a 36mm size. Why is this so important? Well, it not only celebrates the 250th anniversary...
Fratello
Audemars Piguet × Swatch Royal POp: Here’s What We Know!
Swatch has been teasing us for the last week about a secret release scheduled to debut on May 16th. The teasers refer to the Swatch POP (a watch introduced in 1986), a lanyard, a “clac” sound, Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak, and a Sistem51 mechanical movement. View this post on Instagram A post shared […] Visit Audemars Piguet × Swatch Royal POp: Here’s What We Know! to read the full article.
Two Broke Watch Snobs
Swatch Drops Four Jellyfish-Themed Affordable Dive Watches at $155
The Swatch Scubaqua returns with four new affordable dive watches at $155, including two with built-in Swatch Pay at no added cost.
Fratello
Into The Pacific With The Blancpain × Swatch Scuba Fifty Fathoms Ocean Of Storms
The Scuba Fifty Fathoms Ocean of Storms is a wonderful holiday watch. Providing a mechanical caliber and the wearing experience of a Blancpain, this Swatch is a whole lot of fun. It’s good that this plasticky watch has a decent level of waterproofness too. Sydney’s spring has been a tempestuous affair to say the least. […] Visit Into The Pacific With The Blancpain × Swatch Scuba Fifty Fathoms Ocean Of Storms to read the full article.
SJX Watches
AI Designed My Custom Swatch Watch
Announced last year, Swatch’s AI-DADA platform is now live, enabling customers to design and build their own custom Swatch with a design that will never be repeated. With a low entry price and quick turnaround, I took the platform for a spin. Why AI Swatch has been a design-oriented brand since its debut in 1983. Not only has Swatch produced a dizzying array of original designs of its own, over the years the brand has collaborated with celebrated artists and leading institutions to democratise access to wearable art. About a decade ago, Swatch’s world-class logistics infrastructure enabled it to offer customised watches via an online configurator that enabled customers to mix and match different elements from a pre-selected range of options. That was quickly followed by the ability to generate a custom-printed design, by dragging a Swatch template over a selection of human-created patterns and designs. The AI-DADA system, launched earlier this year, builds on this basis in way that only Swatch could pull off. The system leverages an undisclosed large language model (LLM) to generate a custom design based on a user’s 300-character prompt. The result is a made-to-order Swatch of the customer’s own design, delivered in as few as five days. What’s more, the cost is little more than an off-the-shelf model, at just US$195. With little to lose, I took the plunge. AI-DADA Swatch watches are powered by standard quartz movements in the typical New Gent case size. Three str...
Hodinkee
Business News: You Can Now Make Your Own Unique Swatch Using Its 'AI Dada' Tool
Based on your prompts to its AI software, Swatch will design your watch, produce and ship it to you within about a week.
Video
Greymarket-Dealer: "APs downfall has begun."
In this episode we are talking about the new AP x Swatch releases. Has AP really lost the plot?
Fratello
Subprime Reporting? Thoughts On The Recent Morgan Stanley/Swatch Group Controversy
Morgan Stanley Investment Management published its Ninth Annual Swiss Watcher on February 19th. The report dives deep into the commercial performance of the Swiss watch market on a brand-by-brand level. I assume very few watch enthusiasts read the whole thing, but one table is rather famous: the top 50 Swiss watch brands ranked by turnover. […] Visit Subprime Reporting? Thoughts On The Recent Morgan Stanley/Swatch Group Controversy to read the full article.
Time+Tide
What does Morgan Stanley’s top 50 Swiss watch brands list mean for the average enthusiast? (And Swatch Group’s two cents considered)
We dig into Morgan Stanley's latest Swiss watch industry report, and explain what it means for the average watch lover.The post What does Morgan Stanley’s top 50 Swiss watch brands list mean for the average enthusiast? (And Swatch Group’s two cents considered) appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Revolution
Swatch Group Responds to Morgan Stanley Report in Open Letter
Hodinkee
Business News: Swatch Group Publishes Open Letter To Morgan Stanley Management Saying Longines Is Profitable And Tissot Sales Grew
Swatch takes aim at the numbers and methods of the widely read Morgan Stanley 'Swiss Watcher' industry report.
Monochrome
Industry News - Swatch Group Revenues Down In 2025
It’s the time of year when businesses announce their financial performance. Following Richemont and LVMH, Swatch Group has just released its 2025 results. In a challenging environment for the watch industry, the sales of Swatch Group – the Swiss powerhouse and owner of Omega, Longines, and Tissot – were CHF 6,280 million, down 1.3% at constant exchange rates […]
Video
7 NEW Watch Releases This Week (May 2026)
Welcome to the watch releases update for the second week of May 2026. We have some great watch models to cover such as the new Audemars Piguet x Swatch ‘Royal Pop’. As well as new releases from Seiko, Orient Star,...
SJX Watches
Masterpieces of Modernism: Swatch Debuts Guggenheim Collaboration
Having previously collaborated with almost every major art museum in the world, from MoMA to the Louvre, Swatch has licensed four masterpieces of 20th-century art from the Guggenheim, including works on display in New York and Venice. Accessibly priced, non-limited and available online, the Swatch x Guggenheim collection brings works from Monet, Degas, Klee, and Pollock to a wrist near you. Initial thoughts Painted dials have a long history in watchmaking, but the difficult nature of the work meant that for most of history they remained out of reach for all but the wealthiest clientele. While hand-painted dials are vanishingly rare and breathtakingly expensive, modern production methods mean that legendary masterpieces can now be easily scaled down and mass produced. Swatch was a pioneer in this regard, introducing its first artist collaboration with Kiki Picasso in 1985, just two years after the company launched its revolutionary plastic watch. The Picasso collaboration was the first of many, and since then there’s hardly a major art museum that hasn’t licensed selected works to Swatch. The works selected for this collaboration come from two different Guggenheim collections. Three of them are famously on display at the Guggenheim New York, while the fourth may be seen at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice. The odd-looking double-length seconds hand is an homage to this transatlantic duality. The Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice. Functionally, the four quar...
Worn & Wound
Swatch Expands their Art Watch Lineup with a New Guggenheim Collaboration
Few watch brands enjoy the instant brand recognition of Swatch, especially non-luxury brands. Sure, Swatch has its haters-though I’ve always found said haters unimaginative and lacking in whimsy-but the fact that their social cache and cultural relevance has stayed steady for decades is impressive. A self-proclaimed horology superfan could argue that there is nothing mechanically impressive about the brand’s offerings, but that misses the point of Swatch entirely; after all, fashion is not a dirty word. All of this sounds like vindictive talk from a Swatch sympathizer, but really, it comes from a place of genuine admiration for the brand’s ability to stick to their guns, both aesthetically and from a business standpoint. Even with recent splashy collab offerings like the Omega MoonSwatch line, they’ve managed to stay affordable, accessible, and above all, collectable. Swatch is no stranger to collaborations with museums and artists, but even so, the new Guggenheim Collection promises some snazzy new wrist candy for fine art enthusiasts. Inspired by the works of Edgar Degas, Paul Klee, Claude Monet, and Jackson Pollock, and created in tandem with the Guggenheim New York and the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice, the line is just the latest entry in Swatch’s long-standing relationship with the fine art world. Four watches are available from the collection: two feature 34mm biosourced material cases, while the other two measure in at 41mm. Biosourced mat...
Deployant
New release alert: Swatch Year of the Horse
Swatch releases a special edition to celebrate the Year of the Horse with a special art piece in collaboration with Chinese artist Yu Wenjie.
Fratello
Fratello’s Most-Read Story Of The Year 2025 - Introducing: The Omega × Swatch Speedmaster MoonSwatch 1965
Note from the Managing Editor: As part of our end-of-year process, the editorial team and I look back on the year to see (among other things) what some of the best-read stories of the year have been. Although this is usually an internal process, I thought it would be interesting to share it with you, […] Visit Fratello’s Most-Read Story Of The Year 2025 - Introducing: The Omega × Swatch Speedmaster MoonSwatch 1965 to read the full article.
Hodinkee
Dispatch: Inside The Swatch Sistem51 Factory
How exactly does one fully automate the making of a mechanical movement?
Video
This Tudor Watch Isn't For Everyone (But I Love It)
The Black Bay Chrono 'Pink' M79360N-0019 is one of the most talked-about releases from Tudor in the last few years. From the unexpected dial colour to the five-link bracelet, it’s a watch that has divided collectors...