Chaos at Audemars Piguet x Swatch Launch

If you were following Instagram this weekend, you probably saw what the presentation of the much-hyped Royal Pop watches turned into. Instead of a dignified launch, it became a farce. Disappointment instead of satisfied customers, and in some places, even violence. This was the scene worldwide. The official Swatch account posted a warning: if the line for watches exceeded 50 people on May 16, stores in some countries might close. It didn't help.

A telling example: after reports from Singapore, Barcelona, and London, the USA simply canceled the event to avoid trouble. In two posts on its Instagram, Swatch USA announced that 16 of its stores would not open due to safety concerns. "We remind you that the Royal Pop collection is not a limited series," one of the messages said.

A similar situation occurred in Dubai. A post from the local Swatch branch stated: "Due to safety considerations, we have decided not to continue sales at Dubai Mall and Mall of the Emirates, and the event is canceled."

Stores in New Delhi and Mumbai also did not open: controlling the crowd proved impossible. In a video shot in India, you could hear someone shouting, "We are not animals!"

The level of hysteria varied across countries. According to social media reports, launches in Australia and New Zealand were lively but without excessive drama. The Swatch store in Singapore opened, sold out its stock of 40 pieces, and calmly closed, leaving hundreds of disappointed buyers who had queued for more than a day for the coveted item. The launch in Geneva only took place thanks to the police.

In a video from Milan, five minutes before the scheduled opening, there were open clashes between security and customers.

By 10 am in London, such a crowd had gathered at the Battersea shopping center that when the entire flow surged into the building, the scene resembled a zombie apocalypse. Or APOPalypse, as the media dubbed the events.

Judging by the avalanche of listings on eBay and Chrono24, for some, all those overnight queues, scuffles, and clashes with security culminated in the long-awaited purchase. Those who survived the apopalypse bought the Royal Pop for $400 and immediately rushed to sell the watches on well-known platforms.

At the time of writing this article, various models of Royal Pop are offered on Chrono24 in the range of $1,300 to $3,500, and in some cases reach $5,000. The most popular models are Huit Blanc with a white case and rainbow screws, Ocho Negro, and OTG ROZ (pink case, yellow bezel, turquoise dial). On eBay, the price for the latter reaches $6,500.

Neither Swatch nor Audemars Piguet have commented on the Saturday chaos yet. And while there can be no claims against Audemars Piguet since watch sales are organized through Swatch boutiques, there are questions for Swatch.

This kind of presentation organization seems at least strange. After all, everything that happened on Saturday was more than predictable. It wasn't young ladies from Generation Z eager to get something like a fashionable watch keychain from a famous brand who rushed for the watches, but savvy men who immediately aimed to sell the novelty for triple the price. Almost the same thing happened four years ago on the day of the official presentation of the first MoonSwatch models.

Why, having such an experience, did Swatch not plan the organization of the current presentation to ensure people's safety and protect its reputation? Was this initially part of the plan?

According to some reports, about 50 pieces of Royal Pop were allocated to each point of sale. It was immediately apparent that there would be many more people on May 16, and police involvement would be inevitable. What prevented Swatch from selling the watches through an online lottery? Lottery winners could have been given appointment times to visit the store and collect their watches. Everything would have gone as smoothly as possible without scandals and threats to people's lives.

If a crowd was needed for an impressive marketing picture, a few dozen lucky people could have been invited at a specific time. Didn't think of it? Or did they initially want a repeat of the frenzy from four years ago?

In any case, the Audemars Piguet x Swatch Royal Pop series is aimed at a young audience they want to introduce to the culture of wearing mechanical watches. According to Audemars Piguet CEO Ilaria Resta, "The goal of this project is to perpetuate the love of mechanical watchmaking art. To love something, you first need to see it. To desire it, you need to understand it first."

However, it is unclear what can be understood from Saturday's farce.