Resellers offering Royal Pop watches for 20 times original price

A saleswoman shows the new Royal Pop watches by Swatch and Audemars Piguet to a customer, in Geneva, Switzerland, Saturday, May 16, 2026. Keystone / Salvatore Di Nolfi

The new Swatch and Audemars Piguet pocket watch "Royal Pop" is already being sold on at massively inflated prices shortly after going on sale. The demand is causing chaos in front of shops worldwide.

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The “Royal Pop” pocket watch launched by Swatch and Audemars Piguet on Saturday has appeared on resale platforms at massively inflated prices shortly after going on sale. According to media reports, a complete set of the eight models was resold on StockX on Sunday for more than $25,000 (CHF19,600). On Ebay, individual models were on offer on Monday for the equivalent of over CHF7,300 ($9,300).

The official selling price was around €400 (CHF365) or $400-$420, depending on the market. For many buyers, reselling was the plan right from the start. Outside the Swatch store in Times Square in New York, one buyer told the AFP news agency that many had waited up to a week to buy watches and resell them immediately at a significant mark-up.

+ Swiss Swatch group suffers huge profit slump

A Swatch spokesman spoke on Monday of “phenomenal” demand. He did not give any sales figures. However, the company achieved millions of clicks on its website and 11 billion views on social media.

Riots

There were problems at around 20 of the 220 sales outlets worldwide because the queues were extremely long and the organisation of individual shopping centres was inadequate. In France, Italy, the UK, Thailand and the US, there were riots, police interventions and temporary shop closures, according to observers. Swatch announced that the situation had normalised in the meantime.

The “Royal Pop” went on sale in selected shops on Saturday, with a purchase limit of one watch per person, per shop and per day. In Geneva, for example, more than 1,000 people tried to get their hands on a watch.

The collection includes eight colourful pocket watch models inspired by Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak luxury watch line. With its marketing and limited availability, “Royal Pop” is reminiscent of previous bestsellers such as the “Moonswatch” launched in 2022, which Swatch developed together with its sister company Omega.

Adapted from German by AI/ts

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