Audemars Piguet said on September 26, 2026 that its Royal Pop collaboration with Swatch is setting sales records, even as the wider Swiss watch market weakens. The 400 dollar piece, which merges Swatch’s colorful 1980s Pop look with the octagonal Royal Oak silhouette, launched in May and quickly turned into a social media phenomenon that sent shoppers into boutiques and crashed the brand’s website.
“We’ve had a record month every month since the launch of the Royal Pop. Our website crashed. We have nonstop visits in our boutiques,” chief executive Ilaria Resta told CNBC, describing demand that has held up month after month since the spring debut.
The tie-up echoes the earlier MoonSwatch craze, drawing younger consumers into mechanical watches and generating billions of online interactions. Some collectors had worried that such a low price would cheapen a maker known for six-figure timepieces, but Resta has framed the project as a way to widen the brand’s audience and introduce newcomers to high horology. “Either you dare or you die,” she said of the strategy behind the gamble.
The success stands out against a difficult backdrop. Swiss watch exports fell about 19 percent in August, and overall industry sales slipped over the year, pressured by steep US tariffs and softer demand in China and the United States. Rather than passing the full cost on to customers, Audemars Piguet has absorbed much of the impact of the tariffs and higher gold prices, holding its price increases to a minimum to protect volumes across its range.
A handful of top names, among them Rolex, Patek Philippe and Audemars Piguet, now capture roughly half of the industry’s sales and the bulk of its profits. Executives argue the exposure from the cheap collaboration has value that outlasts the watch itself, turning curiosity into future buyers of far pricier pieces. The Royal Pop shows how a heritage Swiss house can chase reach and relevance without abandoning the mechanical craft that justifies its usual prices. Industry watchers are now debating whether rivals will attempt similar tie-ups to reach younger buyers, and whether the trick can be repeated without wearing thin among the collectors who sustain the trade.
