Before Swatch ‘Royal Pop’ Meet the Vintage Audemars Piguet That Started It All

By Ben McKimm - News

Updated: 13 May, 2026

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Readtime: 8 min

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• First Royal Oak interpreted as a pocket watch (Ref. 5691) launched in 1979, limited to ~115 pieces.
• Now, Audemars Piguet x Swatch “Royal Pop” revives the unwristed format for 2026.
• Earlier this year, AP announced the “150th Heritage,” arguably its most complicated watch ever.
• Reference 5691 is powered by the ultra-thin, 1.9mm hand-wound Calibre 5020.
• Together, these three models represent AP’s total command over the category across three eras.

Even with the controversial announcement of a Swatch collaboration, the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak remains THE symbol of the integrated bracelet sports watch. However, history reveals a brief period where it shed its bracelet entirely. During the late 1970s and into the early 80s, the brand leaned into a long-standing tradition of high-end pocket watches that dated back to the 19th century. While the watch industry was still reeling from the quartz crisis, the brand decided to adapt Gérald Genta’s industrial case into a format worn only by the gentleman *tips fedora* of a previous era.

This transition resulted in Reference 5691, a 44 mm octagonal pocket watch made of precious metal, which remains one of the rarest entries in the brand’s archives. It stood in contrast to the heavy-set “Jumbo” wristwatches of the time, utilising the ultra-thin Calibre 5020, and became a quiet icon for the most serious AP collectors.

Decades later, this “breaking the rules” legacy has found a modern echo. With clever product strategy, Audemars Piguet is proving that the pocket watch isn’t a relic for old-school enthusiasts by executing a dual-pronged approach. On one end of the spectrum is the newly announced Audemars Piguet x Swatch ‘Royal Pop,’ taking the Royal Oak’s geometry into the realm of playful plastic and neon lanyards. On the exact opposite end sits the just-unveiled “150th Heritage,” a massive 50mm platinum pocket watch boasting 30 complications and ranking among the most complex (and expensive) timepieces ever made.

Brief History Lesson On the First Royal Oak Pocket Watch

Before the modern hype of the Royal Pop collaboration, there was AP’s quiet 1960s and 70s experimentation with ultra-thin, geometrically shaped pocket watches (polygonal, hexagonal, and octagonal). This culminated in Reference 5691 (later renamed 35691 in 1984–85), the very first time the Royal Oak was presented without a bracelet.

Though archives mention a 1979 launch, Audemars Piguet’s Production Registers show the core production of approximately 116 watches was primarily sold between 1980 and 1982. The collection was broken down into three highly limited variations:

• 5691BA (Yellow Gold): This was the most prolific, with 64 units sold between 1980 and 1985. Notably, some of these examples featured the very first white Tapisserie dials introduced to the Royal Oak collection.
• 5691BC (White Gold): This was the rarest base metal, with just 19 units sold in 1981. Some of these featured the Royal Oak logo engraved directly onto the caseback.
• 5691CA (Two-Tone): With 43 examples sold between 1980 and 1982, this variation was unique. Unlike the very first two-tone Royal Oaks, which combined steel and yellow gold, the 5691CA combined white gold and yellow gold (with “CA” standing for BC and BA). This dual-gold aesthetic was even carried through to the chain links.

Still serving as a reference to pocket watches today, reference 5691 was highly influential, spawning gemset variations (5709, 5745) and openworked models (5710, 5746). By the 1990s, this lineage evolved into a new generation of larger 48mm pocket watches, some of which even housed perpetual calendars under the dial. Little did they know that Swatch would one day make a Bioceramic pocket watch.

Dial Layout and Case Geometry

We’ll start with vintage reference 5691, which is a near-perfect example of geometric adaptation. With a 44 mm case size, its ultra-thin profile easily sits within a waistcoat pocket, much like the Swatch collaboration announced today. The octagonal bezel is punctuated by eight hexagonal screws, and the dial features the classic “Petite Tapisserie” pattern with elegant gold sword hands devoid of lume.

The new Royal Pop borrows this exact architectural blueprint but flips the script for a modern audience with a reduced case size. It measures 40mm (expanding to 53.2mm when snapped into its holder) and features the same iconic bezel and tapisserie dial, but is cast entirely in lightweight Bioceramic. It arrives in eight colours and is loaded with Super-LumiNova. While the vintage pocket watch was built for practicality, this one is more for streetwear styling, or sitting on your desk as a manual-wound clock.

On the complete opposite end of the spectrum is the newly announced 150th Heritage. It eschews the Royal Oak geometry entirely to honour the brand’s 19th-century grand complications. Measuring a massive 50mm wide and 23.4mm thick, it’s a heavyweight platinum piece that feels every bit of its $2.5 million price. The dial leans into vintage aesthetics with Roman numerals and modernised hands. However, it’s the hinged caseback, which opens flat to reveal the “Universal Calendar” and a peripheral 360º display of astronomical cycles and religious holidays intricately mapped on the rear cover that really steals the show here.

What Powers the Pocket Watches?

The original vintage Reference 5691 uses the Calibre 5020, an ultra-thin 20-jewel mechanical marvel that operates at 21,600 vph. Consider that this was manufactured in the 1970s, and you start to understand AP’s dominance in slim-profile watchmaking, which continues to this day with releases like the 150-Piece Audemars Piguet Royal Oak RD#5.

When announced, the Royal Pop collaboration saw a surprisingly mechanical turn for Swatch. Like the OG, it’s powered by a hand-wound movement, a new version of Swatch’s machine-assembled SISTEM51 calibre, now boasting an anti-magnetic Nivachron balance spring and an impressive 90-hour power reserve.

Then there’s the 150th Heritage, which you have to sit down for because it’s truly in another dimension of haute horlogerie. It utilises the new Calibre 1150 (which is a manually wound evolution of the RD#4 “Universelle” wristwatch movement). This packs a staggering 30 complications, including a Grande Sonnerie with Supersonnerie technology, a minute repeater, a split-seconds flyback chronograph, a flying tourbillon, and a semi-Gregorian perpetual calendar. The rear-hinged cover acts as a synchronised mechanical calculator, tracking everything from lunar cycles and solstices to Diwali, Ramadan, and Rosh Hashanah. Could Swatch make something like this in Bioceramic? It’s highly unlikely.

The Editor’s Take

It’s too early to say if the unwristed watch is the ultimate contrarian’s flex, but in a market obsessed with integrated steel sports watches, choosing a piece that lives in your pocket is a statement of true independence.

Audemars Piguet is currently offering three distinct ways to make this statement. The Reference 5691 represents the aristocratic, vintage approach, and the Royal Pop democratises this for the hype-culture generation, proving that Genta’s geometry can be carried as a colourful, modular accessory.

But it’s the 150th Heritage that will push AP forward. By integrating 30 complications into a piece of pocketable platinum architecture, CEO Ilaria Resta and watchmaker Giulio Papi have answered the question of what happens when a brand writes a blank check for innovation. Whether you are queueing for a $400 Bioceramic piece or sending CHF 2.5 million to Le Brassus, AP has made the pocket watch the most exciting category of the year so far.

Price and Availability

Navigating the market for these three distinct pocket watches requires vastly different strategies. Finding a vintage Ref. 5691 is an exercise in extreme patience, and with only around 115 units ever made (including just 19 in white gold), secondary-market prices typically range from €20,000 to €40,000, depending on condition and the presence of the original chain.

Meanwhile, the highly anticipated AP x Swatch Royal Pop drops Saturday, May 16, 2026. While not a limited edition, it will be available exclusively in-store at select Swatch boutiques for USD$400 (AUD$630), with a limit of one watch per person, per day.

Finally, the newly announced 150th Heritage occupies hyper-exclusive territory. Only two models are being produced in platinum, carrying a staggering price tag of CHF 2,500,000, while Audemars Piguet plans to produce eight additional pieces in 18k white gold, priced slightly lower at CHF 2,350,000.