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 Labubu craze, this might be Swatch’s angle and fits with the Gen Z target audience.

While it is laudable that Swatch developed a manually wound movement for the Royal Pop to capture the pocket watch vibe — deemed worthy of its own debut a week before the watch itself — automatic winding might have been fine after all if the Royal Pop is destined for service as a bag charm.

Ref. SSX03L101N.

Pocket Swatch

The Royal Pop is 40 mm in diameter and 8.4 mm tall. In Royal Oak terms, that sizing puts it between the 39 mm ‘Jumbo’ ref. 16202 and the larger ref. 15500. It’s also the the smallest and slimmest of Swatch’s collaborations, but remains water resistant to 20 m, just like the previous generation Royal Oak perpetual calendar.

Eight colourways reference the eight facets of the Royal Oak bezel in various languages.. These are Otto Rosso (Italian, red), Huit Blanc (French, white), Green Eight (English, green), Blaue Acht (German, blue), Ocho Negro (Spanish, black), and Orenji Hachi (Japanese, orange).

Additionally there are the two side-winder models, Làn Ba (Chinese, blue), Otg Roz (Romansh, rose) – the latter is the most prominent in Swatch’s marketing so far.

The case is heavily ceramic-filled polyamide 11, which Swatch calls Bioceramic, as the resin uses renewable castor oil as a feedstock rather than fossil fuels. It is a bioplastic but not a biodegradable one. The vibrant colours are compounded into the resin, meaning they can’t be removed by scratches and scuffs like coated metal.

Pop!

The inner case can be popped free of its frame — hence the name — allowing users to mix and match colours. Frames can be purchased separately for US$45 each, including the non-removable calfskin lanyard. Swatch also offers a stand to convert the Royal Pop into a desk clock, but there is notably no OEM way to wear it on the wrist.

Third-party vendors are no doubt hard at work on this already, but anyone with a 3D printer can have a go at building their own adapter for the wrist.

Ref. SSX03L103N.

Inside is a new manually wound member of the ETA-made Sistem 51 family, with a small seconds display 90° from the crown for the two savonnette / side-winder versions, and entirely absent on the lepine configurations.

Despite its economical construction, the Sistem 51 remains a marvel of engineering — it was the only mechanical movement with fully automated assembly when launched in 2013, though that may now be true of some Citizen movements as well.

Swatch once bragged the movement used a single screw, which affixed the rotor. Without a rotor, the new movement uses no screws — the plates are bridges are welded together. Obviously, it is not designed for serviceability, but the economics of servicing mechanical movements in this price range are so shaky that this is practically irrelevant.

Ref. SSX03W100N.

Like the previous collaboration with Blancpain, these movements are decorated with a pop art motif using digital UV printing across the bridges, which is visible through the display case back. The state of wind can even be discerned from the visible mainspring coils, serving as an ad hoc power reserve indicator. Is the Royal Pop enough to get Gen Z interested in watchmaking, or at least used to reading an analogue watch? Time will tell.

Ref. SSX03G100N.

Key facts and price

Audemars Piguet x Swatch Royal Pop
Ref. SSX03R100N (Otto Rosso, pink and red)
ç (Huit Blanc, white)
Ref. SSX03G100N (Green Eight, green)
Ref. SSX03L101N (Blaue Acht, green and blue)
Ref. SSX03L100N (Làn Ba, blue and light blue)
Ref. SSX03J100N (Otg Roz, rose and yellow)
Ref. SSX03W101N (Ocho Negro, black and white)
Ref. SSX03L103N (Orenji Hachi, navy blue)

Diameter: 40 mm
Height: 8.4 mm
Material: Bioceramic (ceramic filled nylon)
Crystal: Acrylic
Water-resistance: 20 m

Movement: Sistem 51
Functions: Hours, minutes, and seconds
Winding: Manual
Frequency: 21,600 beats per hour (3 Hz)
Power reserve: 90 hours

Lanyard: Calfskin

Limited edition: No
Availability: Swatch Boutiques
Price: US$400 or $420 (side-winder) excluding taxes

For more information, visit www.swatch.com.