The closest Audemars Piguet ever got to loosening its black-tie image was possibly when it collaborated with KAWS. No matter who or what it teamed up with, the brand always carried itself with the kind of seriousness that felt more at home at a gala dinner than on a streetwear drop. However, when the prestigious Swiss luxury watchmaker comes into contact with fellow Swiss watchmaker Swatch, something changes.
Swatch has a habit of injecting a dose of fun into every collaboration it touches, and in this case, it also makes Audemars Piguet feel a little less intimidating and perhaps a little less out of reach for the general audience.
Folks, meet the Audemars Piguet x Swatch Royal Pop collection, a collaboration that takes the iconic Royal Oak and turns it into something nobody expected: a colorful pocket watch inspired by the Swatch POP watches from the 1980s.
Yes. Audemars Piguet and pocket watches in candy colors are now officially a thing.
The Royal Pop collection consists of eight Bioceramic models, each inspired by Pop Art and designed to be worn in multiple ways. Instead of being tied to your wrist, these watches come with calfskin lanyards that let you wear them around your neck, clip them onto a bag, stash them in a pocket, or even display them on a desk using the included stand.
Despite the playful concept, the specs are surprisingly serious. Inside is Swatch’s SISTEM51 mechanical movement in a new hand-wound form with 15 active patents, over 90 hours of power reserve, and an anti-magnetic Nivachron balance spring co-developed with Audemars Piguet. The movement is partially visible through a transparent sapphire-backed case.
The collection includes both Lépine-style and Savonnette-style pocket watches. The former places the crown at 12 o’clock with a simple two-hand layout, while the latter moves the crown to 3 o’clock and adds a small seconds subdial.
As expected, the Royal Oak DNA is all over this thing. You get the octagonal bezel, the signature “Petite Tapisserie” dial texture, eight exposed hexagonal screws, satin finishing, and enough geometric aggression to remind you this still traces its lineage back to the watch that upset the luxury watch world in 1972.
The watches themselves measure 40 mm across without the clip, or 44.2 × 53.2 mm when mounted, with a slim 8.4 mm case thickness. Water resistance is rated at 2 bar, while the hands and markers are treated with Grade A Super-LumiNova for nighttime visibility.
The colorways are where Swatch really starts behaving like Swatch. There is OTTO ROSSO in pink and cherry red, GREEN EIGHT in full green, OCHO NEGRO in black and white, and HUIT BLANC which looks like someone spilled a bag of Skittles onto a Royal Oak bezel.
The Audemars Piguet x Swatch Royal Pop collection will be available from selected Swatch stores starting May 16, 2026. As with most Swatch collaborations, expect queues, resellers, and people suddenly developing a deep appreciation for pocket watches overnight.
As for the pricing, watch lovers who usually admire Audemars Piguet from the other side of the boutique window can rejoice. The Lépine-style models (two-hand versions) will sell for 400 bucks, while the Savonnette-style models (with small seconds) cost 420 bucks.
Not exactly cheap for a Swatch you cannot even wear on your wrist, but as far as Audemars Piguet is concerned, that is basically the price of walking into the boutique and breathing too hard near a Royal Oak.
Images: Swatch.
