293 articles · 129 videos found · page 1 of 15
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.
Two Broke Watch Snobs
Casio Duro vs Swatch Sea Wasp: a hands-on comparison of two very different affordable dive watches, from build quality and bezels to price and personality.
Fratello
If you thought MoonSwatch madness had finally cooled down, think again. Swatch CEO Nick Hayek has pulled off another headline-grabbing marketing masterclass, leaving the watch world in equal parts awe and amusement. To commemorate the Apollo 11 Moon landing, Swatch quietly opened applications for an ultra-exclusive edition of the MoonSwatch. The catch? Swatch is capping […] Visit A Real Gold Rush — Swatch’s Apollo 11 MoonSwatch Sets A Wild New Record: 1.2 Million Applicants For 1,969 Pieces to read the full article.
Fratello
It’s been a little over four years since Swatch and Omega surprised us with the MoonSwatch. The hype was tremendous after the official announcement that the two brands would release a series of Bioceramic watches inspired by the iconic Speedmaster. Four years later, the hype might have died down somewhat, but people are still interested […] Visit The Top 5 Omega × Swatch MoonSwatch Models to read the full article.
Monochrome
Following two difficult consecutive years, with sales down 12% in 2024 and 7% in 2025, the Swatch Group, the Swiss watchmaking giant owner of brands such as Omega, Breguet, Longines, and Tissot, is now back to growth. Indeed, as indicated by its half-year 2026 report, Swatch Group recorded “a strong increase in sales, up +8.5% […]
Time+Tide
Just when we thought the MoonSwatch hype had been well and truly usurped by the recent AP x Swatch collaboration, Swiss giants Omega and Swatch went and broke the internet again last week, announcing their latest collaboration piece: the MoonSwatch Mission to the Moon 1969. Limited to just 1,969 pieces, the bioceramic special edition receives … Continued
Video
It’s been a wild 24 hours. From an unexpected invitation to appear on NBC's Today Show to discuss the highly controversial new AP x Swatch collaboration, to hunting for vintage Americana at a local estate sale, and...
Teddy Baldassarre
The latest Swatch x Omega MoonSwatch Mission To The Moon 1969 goes high end with 11g of gold and an application process.
SJX Watches
In the run-up to the 57th anniversary of mankind’s first steps on the moon, Swatch has launched the Swatch x Omega MoonSwatch Mission to the Moon 1969, a watch that follows the proven MoonSwatch formula but enhances the value proposition with a substantial amount of 18k MoonShine gold. In fact, the 11 g of 18k gold contained in the dial, crown, and pushers is worth nearly twice the retail price of the watch at today’s spot price. In addition to the historical “OM” designation found at six o’clock, the dial is also engraved “Au 750” denoting its solid gold construction. Initial thoughts The anniversary of the moon landing, which took place July 21, 1969, is an annual reminder of the Omega Speedmaster’s legendary status as ‘the moon watch’. It’s an old story, but it remains a good one. The MoonSwatch leans heavily on this heritage, and the latest iteration is arguably the greatest, borrowing several aesthetic motifs from the so-called “Nixon” Speedmasters that were gifted to American astronauts and government officials — namely the gold dial and black inlay for the hands and dial markers. Substantively, the Mission to the Moon 1969 is much like any other MoonSwatch, with a plastic case that’s a dead ringer for that of the Speedmaster Professional. An ETA quartz chronograph ticks inside, and the battery — now protected by a scratch-resistant cover — is accessible from the case back. That said, the Mission to the Moon 1969 is an atypical Moon...
Hodinkee
What We Know It's kind of funny saying this, but it's been a bit of time since we've seen a new Moonswatch. Given the news cycle around this year's Swatch x Audemars Piguet launch, it makes a lot of sense that Swatch has held more Moonswatch releases in its back pocket, ready for when the time is right to get people talking again about its most popular high/low collab. Today's new Mission To The Moon 1969 Moonswatch is the most limited of the Moonswatches, with only 1,969 pieces made in total. It's certainly a special execution, with an homage to Apollo 11's Moon landing in—you guessed it—1969. But unlike an actual Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch, where the story is a huge part of the appeal to the collector, I have a feeling that this Moonswatch's appeal lies in its use of Omega's 18K Moonshine Gold. It's certainly not the first time Swatch has used Omega's gold alloy in Moonswatches, but this one has a lot of that gold. With the dial, hands, pushers, and crown all in Moonshine Gold, there are eleven grams total in each of these watches. Interestingly, Swatch is saying that the gold used for this edition is melted down from spare Omega parts from that era, which then ties the connection with Omega much closer together. This edition pairs a matte black Bioceramic case with all those bits of gold and black accents to complete the look. The Moonshine Gold dial is given a vertically brushed finish. No lume to be found on these hands, as the gold beveled applied indices are fi...
Time+Tide
Celebrating the Apollo 11 Moon landing, the MoonSwatch Mission to the Moon 1969 is limited to just 1,969 individually numbered pieces.
WristBuzz
Ref. SSX01B700. Solid 18K Moonshine gold dial, gold crown and pushers, 11 grams of gold, CHF 500 because Swatch decided to charge 1969 gold prices. 1969 pieces, ESTA lottery is live.
Video
This video is my opinion on if there is a Swatch x AP Royal Oak watch collaboration coming on May 16th- based on Swatch's two recent Instagram posts.
Fratello
Swatch did it again! A new Swatch x Omega MoonSwatch was launched at the same time (09:32 AM EDT / 15:32 CEST) as the Saturn V rocket from the Apollo 11 mission in 1969. Swatch has a good feel for historical relevance and released yet another cool MoonSwatch variation. Mission To The Moon 1969 The […] Visit We Have A Lift Off! Meet The New Swatch MoonSwatch Mission To The Moon 1969 to read the full article.
Worn & Wound
This was supposed to be the summer of the Royal Pop. Still the biggest cultural moment for watches of the year, the Royal Pop launch did not exactly go as anyone anticipated, and it created perhaps the wrong kind of crossover moment for all involved. I’ve come to think that the product itself, a colorful pocket watch sharing a silhouette with the Royal Oak, is a lot of fun and a genuinely good and smart idea, but the rollout was so epically poor it will take a long time for the sour taste in all of our mouths to be washed away. I’m not quite sure what the current availability of Royal Pops actually is in the various Swatch boutiques that are designated to sell them. I’ve seen exactly one in the wild, at Windup Chicago over the weekend, worn on the wrist of an attendee on an aftermarket strap of some kind. It’s safe to say, though, that it has not yet caught on as a Labubu-like sensation the way that Audemars Piguet and Swatch likely hoped that it would. So, like Swatch themselves, I’m forced to ask “What if…?” What if the Royal Pop had been earmarked for a summer 2027 release instead, and that this year’s big launch was actually the one that came across the transom last week? The new “What If…Jelly?” is one of my favorite types of Swatch releases: those that remind us that what the brand does best are not the intra-group collabs like the MoonSwatch or big hype pieces like the Royal Pop, but the colorful, purely original designs that could only b...
WristBuzz
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.
Worn & Wound
I don’t really have a ton of evidence to support this, but I have a vague sense that clocks are maybe about to have a moment. There seem to be some signs. There’s the Audemars Piguet x Swatch collaboration, which, for all the ink spilled about the disaster of a rollout, has the potential (still!) to be a big pop culture moment this year, and I have a feeling many future owners of the Royal Pop will use it as a desk clock in some fashion. There was the recent launch of a new Horological Machine from MB&F; which is, basically, a big robot clock. Earlier this year, a real highlight of the Louis Vuitton slate was a clock made in partnership with L’Epée (also a collaborator on the MB&F;). It just seems like an unusual amount of clock activity, coupled with a similarly unusual amount of interest in said clocks. That leads me to one of the more unexpected and interesting things I’ve seen from Timex in a bit, the new Waterbury America 250 Table Clock. Part of a series of releases commemorating the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the clock draws on classic pocket watch design language and is a pretty attractive hunk of stainless steel that I think would look good on many a desk, whether it belongs to a watch lover or not. The clock case is a mix of brushed and polished steel, with star accents along the caseband and a guilloche engraving with a gold tone emblem on the retractable lid. A button on the side of the case releases the lid ...
Two Broke Watch Snobs
Reviewing the Swatch Scubaqua Sea Wasp, a colorful affordable dive watch that prioritizes fun, comfort, and everyday wearability.
Video
WristBuzz
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.
Fratello
The Audemars Piguet × Swatch Royal Pop watch resulted in long queues at Swatch boutiques worldwide. We witnessed the chaos and mayhem at several of them on May 16th. Police had to enforce order, stores had to close, mall owners were angry, and managers of nearby shops were pissed because they couldn’t open or had […] Visit The Swatch Collaboration Effect — Here’s What Happened (This Time) to read the full article.
Fratello
Welcome to another Sunday Morning Showdown! This week, we pit two Bioceramic hype monsters against each other. Daan defends the original Omega × Swatch Speedmaster MoonSwatch. Thomas counters with the recent Audemars Piguet × Swatch Royal Pop. Which collaborative Swatch model did it better? Let’s see! The Royal Pop retails for €385 or €400, depending […] Visit Sunday Morning Showdown: Audemars Piguet × Swatch Royal Pop Vs. Omega × Swatch Speedmaster MoonSwatch to read the full article.
Fratello
Hype around Swatch is not new. The “Second Watch,” launched in 1983 as a fun and affordable accessory you could wear to match your daily outfits, was never meant to be a lifelong heirloom investment. It was always about the heat of the moment. The colorful plastic Swatch caused a massive cultural and commercial “uproar” […] Visit Pondering Swatch’s Relevance: Is Adrenaline-Fueled Hype Enough To Remain A Player In The Watch Game? to read the full article.
Fratello
Fashion is a fickle and unpredictable muse, isn’t she? While some predict the demise of the analog watch under pressure from smartwatches, something as unexpected as the Audemars Piguet × Swatch Royal Pop could imaginably swing the pendulum the other way. Could it trigger a resurgence of ye olde pocket watch? And if so, are […] Visit In Case The Audemars Piguet × Swatch Royal Pop Inspired You, Here Are Some Modern Pocket Watches to read the full article.
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Worn & Wound
The hype started immediately. Just a little over a week ago, Audemars Piguet and Swatch began teasing the unthinkable: a collaboration. Well, not just a collab, it quickly became clear that this would be another bioceramic recreation, of sorts, of an iconic watch. Named “Royal Pop,” thus evoking the most Veblen of watches, the Royal Oak. Without even showing what the final product would be, collectors, enthusiasts, speculators, hype chasers, pop culture analysts, your awkward relative that texts you everything watch-related they stumble upon, knew this would be big. Not just big in terms of the watch industry, but big in terms of product launches on a global level. Think iPhone, but dumber. When Swatch launched the MoonSwatch back in 2022, there were similar initial reactions. Contempt, excitement, speculation. On the day of launch, I met up with Worn & Wound co-founder Blake Malin to head to a store to maybe pick one up. While on the train, we heard about the lines and decided to bail. Thanks to sites like StockX and eBay, the value of these watches skyrocketed before launch, drawing in a crowd of opportunistic resellers. No shade towards them, a living is a living, but the tone of the launch shifted. It wasn’t for us anymore. Eventually, social media outlets reported that some of the lines were getting rowdy. Not a good look. Despite the inane “boutique” launch model, eventually we got the watches, and, for a time, they were fun. Back to 2026 – despite knowin...
Hodinkee
Sales of the Royal Pop, the bioceramic pocket watch collaboration from Audemars Piguet and Swatch, resumed in some locations on Monday after the Saturday launch was marred by overwhelming crowds that forced store closures across Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and North America. Customers were seen buying the $400 watch in Geneva on Monday as the Swatch boutique resumed sales of the timepiece. Swatch boutique in Geneva on Saturday saw a heavy police presence to control crowds. Swatch closed at least 20 of its stores on Saturday as launch-day crowds and demand for the Royal Pop pocket watch overwhelmed security and staff. Stores in the U.A.E, India, the U.K., Europe, and at locations in the U.S. and Canada were closed on May 16, according to social media posts, after crowds seeking to buy the pocket watch collaboration surged, queues collapsed, and sporadic scenes of violence broke out. Police were on hand at dozens of locations to control crowds. The line at the Swatch boutique in Wales (photo: Matthew Horwood/Getty Images). The sign on the window of the Wales Swatch boutique following the temporary store closure (photo: Matthew Horwood/Getty Images). The Biel/Bienne-based company, in a statement, said Monday that "the response to the Royal Pop Collection has been phenomenal worldwide," and demand is extremely high. Swatch said that in "around 20 Swatch stores" out of a total of 220 stores globally where the Royal Pop was launched, "challenges arose on launch day because ...
Hodinkee
Earlier in the week, I got a chance to see the new Swatch x Audemars Piguet Royal Pop collaboration in person, the hottest (and most hotly debated) thing since, well, Swatch did their first collaboration with Omega. There were some restrictions, like the fact that I couldn't handle some of them without gloves, but I did get enough of an impression to have a lot of thoughts. Yes, I think they're a lot of fun, and actually pretty impressive in some ways. I get that a lot of people will disagree, and that's fine. But to answer the last part of our headline first: you can get the Swatch x AP Royal Pop watches only at select retail stores starting May 16. You can find those stores on the Swatch website by going to the homepage, looking for the collab, and clicking the "See Stores" link. One version (with a crown at the right) is $420, while the other (with a crown at the top) is $400. Also, this is not an AP-led product, so don't call your local AP AD hoping to get one. Swatch is in charge here. Love it or hate it, the Swatch x Audemars Piguet Royal Pop is big news. How big? A few hundred comments on our site is a good measure. But how about the fact that, in 24 hours, our "Introducing" story on the collab got about 20x an average story would do in a month and 1.75x more page views than the Rolex "Pepsi" GMT cancellation (which was the highest-traffic story of Watches & Wonders to date). We love watches over here, but it can be a bubble. There are a few rare moments when the wa...
Time+Tide
There’s nothing like a good Swatch release to turn the watch world upside down, and that’s exactly what we’ve seen this week. Fresh after our brilliant British Weekender in NYC, where watches were firmly on enthusiasts’ minds, Audemars Piguet and Swatch decided to bring watches into the forefront for everyone, announcing a new collaboration that everyone, … Continued
Teddy Baldassarre Videos
The hotly anticipated Swatch x AP collaboration has been revealed. Watch the video for all the details, we'll break down everything you need to know about the latest collectible collaboration.
Video
Ohhh buddy - here it is: A complete unboxing of one of the Royal Pops - the otto rosso.
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