Swatch-Audemars Piguet watches flipped for as much as $32,000 for entire set

PARIS – After the frenzy over the weekend to buy timepieces from the new Audemars Piguet-Swatch collaboration, many who succeeded in laying their hands on the Royal Pop pocket watches wasted no time to flip the sought-after product.

A full set of the eight Royal Pop models fetched more than US$25,000 (S$32,000) on live marketplace StockX on May 17, while various unofficial websites sold custom-made bracelets to convert Royal Pop timepieces to wristwatches for upwards of US$50.

“I think there’s a small window of opportunity going on here for the flippers who potentially are going to make a lot of money,” said Mr Jon White, director of British precious metals dealer Gold Traders.

Whether they maintain that elevated value within the aftermarket is another matter, he said.

“It’s bonkers, absolutely bonkers,” he added.

Listings on platforms such as France’s Le Bon Coin showed the Royal Pop reselling for €1,500 (S$2,234). That was about four times what the €385 the cheapest model costs in France.

On Switzerland’s Ricardo website, a model of the watch was offered for 2,200 Swiss Francs (S$3,600).

The pocket watch, the result of a rare collaboration between mass manufacturer Swatch Group and Audemars Piguet, the maker of the exclusive Royal Oak, went on sale on May 16.

The announcement generated so much interest that some Swatch stores across the world had to shut down for crowd-safety concerns and sometimes could not even open. The product was only available for purchase in stores.

“Looking at this weekend’s footage and the chaos that sometimes ensued, it seems the people queuing were clearly only interested in an immediate resale, with no interest in the product, which is quite sad,” Mr Pierre-Olivier Essig, head of research at AIR Capital, told Bloomberg. “If Swatch was looking for a shock buzz, it was a hit!”

Mr Essig has a speculative buy on the stock.

Shares of Swatch fell as much as 2.76 per cent in Zurich trading early on May 18, reducing gains so far in 2026 to about 17 per cent.

“The response to the Royal Pop Collection has been phenomenal worldwide, and demand is extremely high,” Swatch said in response to questions about the chaos over the weekend.

In about 20 of the 220 Swatch stores globally where the Royal Pop was launched, “challenges arose” because of exceptionally long lines and the inability of some shopping malls to handle the high turnout, it said.

Swatch said the situation was similar to the first day of the MoonSwatch launch in March 2022.

It reminded customers on its Instagram account on May 16 that the Royal Pop collection would remain available for several months, and that queues of more than 50 people could not be accepted in some countries, with sales needing to be paused.

The warning prompted angry comments from high-profile watch influencers such as Mr Chamath Gamage, with about 140,000 followers.

Mr Gamage urged the watch group to fix its approach and emulate Apple, which initially faced similar lines with its iPhone launches.

Apple eventually moved toward virtual queues and reservations, he said, telling Swatch: “You know exactly how many units each boutique is holding. So, why let the lines keep building? Why let people wait for hours when the allocation is already clear?”

“A product like this should feel fun, accessible and exciting, not stressful,” he added in his post.

Air Capital’s Mr Essig said he does not see the need for Audemars Piguet to engage in this collaboration since the exclusive watchmaker enjoys a strong reputation that is built on scarcity, questioning the strategy of CEO Ilaria Resta, who took over about two and a half years ago.

Audemars Piguet sold about 50,000 watches in 2025 with a production capacity of an extra 20,000, according to a joint report by Morgan Stanley and LuxeConsult. That compares to about 4.4 million for the Swatch brand, the report said.

Audemars Piguet and Swatch were not immediately available for comment.

“The AP x Swatch launch turned to an image disaster with the catastrophic logistics around the drop,” said Mr Oliver Mueller at LuxeConsult. “I still think it’s a good idea and concept. But the execution needs to be at the level of the concept.” BLOOMBERG, REUTERS