The Swatch Royal Pop Pocket Watch, and Why Pocket Watches Are Back

What the Audemars Piguet x Swatch pocket watch is, why it sent pocket watch searches to a five-year high, and how it compares with the real antiques, from a dealer in antique pocket watches.

What is the Swatch Royal Pop pocket watch?

The Royal Pop is a pocket watch made by Swatch with the design of Audemars Piguet's Royal Oak, first sold in 1972. The two firms unveiled it on 13 May 2026 and it went on sale in selected Swatch stores on Saturday 16 May.

It mixes the Royal Oak's octagonal bezel, eight hexagonal screws and "Petite Tapisserie" dial pattern with the bright colours of the Swatch POP watches of the 1980s. It is not a wristwatch: it comes on a leather lanyard, in a clip case and with a stand.

• Launched: Unveiled 13 May 2026, on sale from Saturday 16 May 2026
• Models: eight colours, six Lépine (crown at 12, hours and minutes), two savonnette (crown at 3, small seconds)
• Case: Bioceramic (two-thirds ceramic, one-third castor oil based material), 40 mm, 8.4 mm thick
• Glass: Sapphire crystal front and back
• Movement: Hand-wound SISTEM51, over 90 hours of power reserve, Nivachron balance spring, 21,600 beats an hour
• Worn: Calfskin lanyard in three lengths, clip case and a removable stand
• Price: From £335 in the UK; US$400 and US$420
• Where: Selected Swatch stores only, one per person, per day, per store

Lépine and savonnette: old pocket watch words

The two versions take their names from traditional pocket watch layouts. A Lépine is an open face with the crown at 12. A savonnette is the French name for the hunter layout, with the crown at 3 and the small seconds at 6. Our guide to full hunter, half hunter and open face cases shows the antique originals.

Audemars Piguet says it will use all of its proceeds from the collaboration to fund an initiative for the preservation and transmission of watchmaking skills.

The launch, the queues and the resale market

On launch day Swatch closed all of its London stores, along with stores in Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham, Sheffield, Glasgow and Cardiff, after crowds built up overnight, PA Media reported on 19 May 2026. Police were called to shopping centres in Cardiff and Manchester.

Swatch chief executive Nick Hayek told BBC Radio 4's Today programme there had been "overcrowding like hell" at some stores, but that the firm had "clearly communicated that this is not a one-day event" and would keep making the watch for months. Swatch said about 20 of its 220 stores worldwide were affected.

Resale

Because it was sold only in person, one per customer, resellers moved fast. Within two days the Associated Press found an eBay listing asking £3,055.58 "or Best Offer" for a watch that cost £335. The AP compared the scenes with the MoonSwatch launch of March 2022, from Swatch and its sister brand Omega.

Swatch has not called the Royal Pop a limited edition, and Time+Tide reported at launch that it was not planned as one. Check that before paying a premium.

Why pocket watches are back in 2026

The search numbers

In Google Trends, UK searches for "pocket watch" reached their highest point in five years in the week of 17 May 2026, the Royal Pop's launch week. In the US, the 2026 average is about double that of 2021 to 2025.

A new way to wear an old idea

No waistcoat needed. The Royal Pop hangs from a lanyard, round the neck or from a bag. Antique pocket watches have long been worn the same way, on long chains and as pendants.

A mechanical watch at a modest price. Audemars Piguet chief executive Ilaria Resta told CNBC in September 2026: "Simply by putting the spotlight on an object and a mechanical movement, all of a sudden you discover the world of Audemars Piguet."

For waistcoats, suits, jeans and pendant chains, see how to wear a pocket watch.

Royal Pop vs an antique pocket watch

The Royal Pop and a 19th-century pocket watch are both mechanical, hand-wound and made to be carried. After that they part ways, in four places.

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Mechanics: machine-built vs watchmaker-built

SISTEM51 was designed for fully automated assembly: Europa Star counted 51 parts and a single screw in the original automatic, where a conventional movement needs about 30. Parts are riveted, soldered or studded rather than screwed.

An antique movement was put together, adjusted and often decorated by hand, like the pierced and engraved balance cock above. See verge fusee pocket watches.

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Materials: Bioceramic vs gold, silver and enamel

Bioceramic is a ceramic and bio-based material in bright colours, with sapphire crystals front and back. It has no metal value.

An antique case is silver or gold, and a British one is hallmarked with its standard, assay office and year: see pocket watch hallmarks and how to tell solid gold. Enamel, engraving and paste add the decoration.

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Longevity: servicing an old movement

Europa Star reported in 2014 that the original automatic SISTEM51 is "not repairable". That report covers the automatic; the Royal Pop uses a new hand-wound version.

A traditional movement is screwed together, so a watchmaker can strip, clean, oil and adjust it. Patek Philippe advises a service every three to five years for its own manually wound pocket watches. Before you wind an old one, read how to wind and set a pocket watch.

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Value: a new release vs an antique

The Royal Pop costs from £335 in a Swatch store, and more on the resale market. An antique is valued on other things: its maker, its silver or gold case, its condition and its history.

Gold sets a floor under an antique gold watch, which a Bioceramic case does not have. See which vintage gold watches hold their value.

Buying your first antique pocket watch

If the Royal Pop has you looking at the real antiques, start with what makes one valuable: the maker, the metal, the condition and whether it is all original. Every piece is different.

For what drives value, from metal and maker to complications, see our pocket watch value guide and the brand guides for Waltham and Elgin.

Four checks before you buy

1. Ask when it was last serviced

   A watch that runs for a minute is not the same as one that keeps time. A recent service is worth paying for.

2. Read the case

   Hallmarks tell you silver or gold and the year. Gold filled is not solid gold: see pocket watch case makers marks.

3. Look at the movement

   Ask to see it. Our guide shows how to open a pocket watch safely.

4. Add the chain

   An antique Albert chain is the original lanyard. See chain styles and attachments.

Worn the new way

An Albert chain clips to the watch's bow at one end and has a T-bar at the other. Worn as a long necklace, it does the same job as a lanyard, in solid silver or gold.

Our silver Albert chains from Birmingham, 1926 and the 1910s to 1920s are in stock now.

Audemars Piguet and the pocket watch

Audemars Piguet describes the Royal Pop as a nod to its own 19th-century pocket watch tradition. Its antique pocket watches are a different world from a £335 lanyard watch: at Sotheby's New York in December 2025, its astronomical "Grosse Pièce" pocket watch sold for US$7.7 million, SJX Watches reported.

If the Royal Oak itself is the draw, our Audemars Piguet guide covers the brand and its models, and we value pre-owned pieces: sell your Audemars Piguet. Mozeris Fine Antiques is an independent dealer, with no connection to Swatch or Audemars Piguet, and does not sell the Royal Pop.

Latest: October 2026

• Still in stores only. Swatch's UK page, checked on 5 October 2026, still says the Royal Pop is sold only in selected Swatch stores, one watch per person, per day, per store, and that it "will remain available for several months".
• Queues still managed. The same page says that in some countries queues of more than 50 people cannot be accepted, and sales may be paused.
• Record months for Audemars Piguet. On 26 September 2026 CNBC reported Ilaria Resta saying: "We've had a record month every month since the launch of the Royal Pop."

Buy an antique pocket watch, or value the one you have

We buy and sell antique pocket watches and chains, by appointment at 47 Maddox Street, Mayfair, and in Braintree, Essex.

1. Buying

   See the antique pocket watches in stock, such as a 1925 Patek Philippe in 18ct gold, and our antique watch boxes.

2. Selling

   Found a pocket watch in a drawer? Send photos of the dial, the back and the movement for a free valuation, working or not. See sell your pocket watch.

3. Talk to us

   Call 01376 334482, message us on WhatsApp, or use our contact page.

Questions we are asked

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