The Royal Pop Riot: Swatch Manufactured Chaos

Swatch Watches: Stock image from Unsplash

There are only so many times a company can light a match in a crowded room before we can safely stop calling it an accident.  If you’re a watch enthusiast, you’ve seen the footage by now; hell, I’ve even had friends who don’t give a shit about watches text me with links to Instagram and TikTok of the crowds in front of Swatch stores asking me “what the fuck is going on”.

That footage, of course, was of the crowds packed shoulder-to-shoulder outside Swatch boutiques. Police officers lining mall entrances like they were preparing for the Battle of the Bastards. Fights breaking out like the angriest of angry mosh pits. And all because people had been camping overnight, and some for nights on end, for a plastic pendant watch. Pepper spray reportedly utilized at Roosevelt Field Mall in Long Island, and stores shut down across New York, London, Toronto, Paris, Dubai, Singapore, and beyond because this was all becoming a safety issue. 

And somehow, we are expected to believe that both Swatch and Audemars Piguet were surprised by this. Come on.

The Audemars Piguet x Swatch “Royal Pop” release was not a logistical failure, nor was it a miscalculation. It was not a case of innocent companies underestimating consumer enthusiasm. This was a deliberately engineered spectacle by Swatch and Audemars Piguet, designed to dominate headlines, flood social media feeds, and transform a watch release into a chaotic hype frenzy. 

When the Omega x Swatch MoonSwatch launched in 2022, the scenes at the stores were already absurd. Stores were overwhelmed, and in many instances, the police were called. In some locations, people were physically assaulted, and even reports of stabbings connected to the release in New York. At the time, many people in the watch world treated it as a bizarre reaction. We had never seen anything like it, so who could have possibly seen it coming? I’m going to venture a guess that Swatch could have. But even if they didn’t expect it, they could have done everything in their power to avoid repeating it; instead, it became the first page of their new playbook. 

After its initial release, the MoonSwatch became an endless source of content, milking that cash cow for every dollar they could with new “moon-themed” releases. New colors, missions, and gimmicks. They even had popcorn on one of them, for reasons I can’t possibly remember. Slowly, though, the hysteria died. 

Then came the Blancpain x Swatch Scuba Fifty Fathoms. The reaction was enthusiastic, the watch was even fun, just like the MoonSwatch before it. A twist on the iconic Fifty Fathoms, and they even put an automatic movement inside so that Blancpain could still claim to have never made a quartz watch. But this release didn’t come anywhere close to the MoonSwatch. And, to be quite frank, that makes sense. The average person has no friggin’ idea what a Blancpain Fifty Fathoms is. Us watch nerds, we know. But your cousin who owns a pair of Cactus Jack Dunks and follows Travis Scott on Instagram hasn’t got a clue. 

Audemars Piguet is different; people know AP. More importantly, young adults and women are familiar with AP. They may not know the reference numbers or have a Helga Pataki-style shrine of Gérald Genta made up of chewing gum in their closet. But they’ve seen Royal Oaks on the wrists of Jay-Z, LeBron James, Travis Scott, Serena Williams, Kevin Hart, Ed Sheeran, Rihanna, Arnold Schwarzenegger, John Mayer, and approximately every celebrity who has ever sat courtside at an NBA game, or has attended the Met Gala. 

While the Royal Oak evaded watch culture for many years at the beginning of its life, it has since become a status icon among the most influential celebrities…and Swatch knew it. 

I’d argue that Swatch also knew what would happen when they, yet again, announced an “in-store only” release without clarifying one of the single most important details: that the watches would not be limited. That information should have been disclosed from the beginning. Instead, it was only announced after a day’s worth of sufficient chaos energy. 

If you’re asking “but why?” this is not complicated to follow. Make people drool over something new, colorful, and affordable that’s embedded into our culture. From there, panic develops over the uncertainty of getting one (this is where letting folks know it’s not a limited release would’ve pumped brakes). Alas, that uncertainty sparked panic, and folks lined up. Every time people are part of a frenzy, they think it’s some sort of cultural movement, so social media influencers start posting videos of lines. And now you have hype. These are all ingredients for a really repulsive casserole. 

Swatch can post nonsense like “please don’t rush to stores” in Instagram captions all it wants, but that’s a pretty hollow directive when the whole strategy was centered on getting people to rush to physical locations with no transparency, instead of releasing the Royal Pop online.

To those blaming the consumers, or who have, in the last 48 hours, uttered the phrase, “people are animals,” especially if you’re an influencer who contributed to the hype through Instagram reels and YouTube shorts of the lines…shame on you for being so thick as to not realize that you were just as manipulated by the company as the ones who were in line. While they were manipulated into wanting a fun trinket so badly that they’d line up hours and days in advance to try and get it, you were manipulated into creating content around the frenzy for likes and follows. 

I also realize that I felt compelled to write about this, so there is some hypocrisy to my words; however, I’m hoping that this contributes to a conversation that ends with us turning our heads and rolling our eyes the next time a watch brand tries to manipulate us in this way. Because every time one of these releases implodes, there’s always a chorus of people insisting that “people just need to behave better,” and “fans are the problem.” And that’s just bullshit; these things are bound to happen with this level of hype and manipulation.

And yes, of course, there were flippers in those lines too. The internet was flooded with listings asking thousands of dollars for a plastic novelty pendant watch, even before they had one in hand. And those people deserve ridicule. But there were also enthusiasts there. There were kids who grew up seeing Royal Oaks in music videos and on red carpets. And, you know, people who just wanted something fun and weird from a hobby that is supposed to bring joy.

Watchmaking is one of the oldest surviving forms of mechanical artistry on Earth, with a history of more than 500 years. Watches are emotional objects, filled with our stories; that’s why they’re so fun to write about. They mark every moment of our lives, and they become our trusty sidekicks. 

Some watches are difficult to obtain. That’s reality. Some watches require enormous amounts of labor, might incorporate rare materials, and are produced in small numbers because they come from small workshops. High demand and low supply are natural parts of horology that we’re used to as enthusiasts. 

But there is a massive difference between authentic scarcity and artificially engineered hysteria. There should never be unruly crowds clamoring at mall storefronts to buy a watch. Never. And if your release strategy repeatedly creates dangerous public situations requiring police intervention, then your strategy sucks ass. 

And if you thought I was going to put all the blame on Swatch and AP, you were wrong. Watch media also needs to stop entertaining this trash strategy as well. 

Too many outlets cover these releases like they’re marveling at a cultural phenomenon. Look at the lines! Look at the hype! Look at the excitement! Meanwhile, people are getting hurt, employees are being threatened, and authorities are dedicating resources to managing the release of a watch that is just a small step above a McDonald’s Happy Meal toy. 

We should push for brands like Swatch and AP to utilize online lotteries, verified reservations, timed pre-orders, and digital order windows. Whatever it is to let a person know that, if you want one, you’ll eventually get one. Maybe none of these are the solution, and there is another way. I don’t know which way is the “right way,” but it sure isn’t what we all just witnessed. 

If people are getting pepper-sprayed outside a mall just to get their hands on your product, you fucked up. The worst part of it is that Swatch and Audemars Piguet knew it before the doors were even opened. I just hope they catch enough flak from our small community that they tear this page out of their playbook. 

And if I may, ***ONE FINAL PLEA*** I actually thought the product itself, the Royal Pop, was cool. There’s been a lot of conjecture about Swatch and AP wanting to appeal to a younger, more diverse audience. That’s awesome, bring new people into the hobby. The pendant watch design is rad and versatile. But don’t say you want to appeal to a younger generation if you don’t intend to treat them kindly. Their lives have been built around hype culture in so many industries. Watches should be above this game; all Swatch and Audemars Piguet did was prove that even two tremendous companies, one of which is 151 years old, you’re never too old to show how immature you really are. This is an entry point to a beautiful craft, as many Swatch watches have been in the past, and I’m sure will continue to be in the future. Be compassionate. Show your customers respect, no matter the price point.

REMEMBER, nerds…. to keep the comments clean. Please don’t make me pull out ole Abraham-Louis here.