Singapore brand Delugs to launch wrist strap for Audemars Piguet x Swatch Royal Pop watch

SINGAPORE – The race to create a wearable strap for the viral Audemars Piguet x Swatch Royal Pop pocket watch is on, and a Singaporean brand is in the running.

Home-grown watch-strap maker Delugs is a few weeks away from a launch, with prototypes finished and sample production imminent, co-founder Ken Kuan told The Straits Times.

Development of the planned rubber and leather bands began the minute the kitschy keychain-like design of the collaboration between Swatch and Swiss luxury brand Audemars Piguet (AP) was announced on May 12, disappointing watch buffs who had hoped for a more affordable plastic version of AP’s Royal Oak, the Birkin bag of timekeeping.

The Royal Pop collection of eight designs launched on May 16 worldwide for $535 or $570, depending on the configuration of the face – a fraction of the Royal Oak’s five-figure price tag.

“We really wanted to do this because we knew the demand for wearing the Royal Pop would be so high. While as a concept item, it’s nice to have a pocket watch or a bag charm, the reality is that a watch belongs on a wrist,” said Mr Kuan, 33.

What Delugs is working on is an integrated strap, a band fully joined to the timepiece it is made for. Unlike standard straps, there will be no unseemly gaps between the watch face and band. It will attach to a case tailored to the watch.

This frenetic pace is being matched by brands around the world as players, established and unverified, scramble for a wearable solution. Some have begun taking orders based on mock-ups.

But Delugs is taking a more measured approach, keeping pre-orders closed until final samples are ready. The e-mail waiting list has already drawn 10,000 sign-ups.

“There was a lot of pressure when we first announced on May 13 that we were starting this project. We kind of got caught up in the race to be the first to market,” said Mr Kuan.

The focus now is on being the first to deliver a physical product to customers.

The trickiest part has been nailing the watch case, said Mr Kuan.

The Royal Pop’s ceramic case, the thin rim holding the colourful face, is made for lanyards, which means a new case with end links must be made to get any strap on.

Because of the detachable “pop in, pop out” nature of the Royal Pop, a snug but not too restrictive fit is crucial.

Delugs is not in the habit of designing cases, but has produced a workable 3D-printed prototype based on the dimensions of the watch. The final test comes next, when samples in Delugs’ chosen material are produced. The material is alike in feel and character to Swatch’s trademark bioceramic, not too stiff or flexible, said Mr Kuan.

He would not say what it is, preferring to confirm its feasibility first. 

The case has been designed to hold on to the watch face amid the stressors of real-life use, like bumps and knocks, and the natural swelling of the wrist, he added. “We had to do quite a few rounds of testing.”

Full steam ahead

The trial and error depended on working with the real thing, a challenge in itself.

The chaotic global launch of the watch saw outsized crowds shutting down Swatch stores worldwide, including the VivoCity outlet in Singapore, and ambient disorder prompting widespread police intervention.

As the Delugs staff queued overnight only at VivoCity and so left without the critical goods, the team ended up paying between two and three times the retail price for two resold watches in the Lepine make. This version has the crown, or knob for winding the watch, positioned at 12 o’clock instead of the standard 3 o’clock.

It has been full steam ahead since then, with the marketing team documenting each step of the process to combat rife AI mock-ups online and ride on the explosive attention this divisive collaboration has drawn.

Said Mr Kuan: “We usually don’t put so much resources into one project. Most people just see the front-end product, but not how things are made. They don’t understand some of the considerations.

“So, we wanted to use the spotlight on the Royal Pop to do a little bit of education.”

His May 13 video announcement that Delugs would be tossing its hat in the ring received one million views in a day, he said.

The finished product will bundle the strap and watch case for between $150 and $200. Straps will come in a total of 16 colours and cases in eight, one for each Royal Pop colourway.

Mr Kuan first made headlines in February 2024 when he engineered a meeting with British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran in Singapore to gift the artiste, who performed at the National Stadium as part of his +-=÷x world tour, a set of rubber straps.

Sheeran, a watch lover partial to rubber straps for live performances, wore a navy blue Delugs band with his Patek Philippe at his second show at Capitol Theatre.

Delugs was founded in 2018 as an online business, growing rapidly in the boom horology years during the Covid-19 pandemic. It is now pulling in revenue in the eight-figure range and employs a force of 40.

In 2025, it opened its first boutique in Raffles Singapore hotel. In June, it will open its second store in Hong Kong.

Despite its repute in watch circles, Mr Kuan is candid about his being a niche business.

“Only people who are really into watches know about us. We’re not as mainstream as your Love, Bonito and Razer,” he said, referring to the local apparel and gaming brands respectively.

If he succeeds with Project WristPop, Delugs’ playful moniker for its Royal Pop mission, that may soon change.