Prices for Swatch x Audemars Piguet ‘Royal Pop’ Have Crashed

By Ben McKimm - News

Updated: 2 June, 2026

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Readtime: 4 min

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• Swatch and Audemars Piguet’s Royal Pop launch caused massive initial hype.
• Resale prices have quickly crashed after a brief secondary market boom.
• The pocket watch format proved unpopular with mainstream wristwatch buyers.
• StockX data shows several models are now barely selling above retail.
• The market correction is great for collectors but terrible for flippers.

When the news first broke that the rumoured Swatch x Audemars Piguet ‘Royal Pop’ collection was real, the watch world went into a complete meltdown. None of us expected to see the high-horology cachet of the Royal Oak combine with Swatch’s mass-market accessibility, but it seemed like a guaranteed recipe for both brands to print money and for the secondary market “resellers” who pivoted away from sneakers and Labubus for a weekend and into watches.

Upon the anticipated launch on May 16, 2026, we saw the predictable Audemars Piguet Swatch chaos at Swatch boutiques worldwide. Queues went around city blocks as flippers (and a handful of collectors) scrambled to get their hands on one of the eight Bioceramic pocket watches. Secondary market listings were originally asking thousands (and fetching it) with massive premiums for a timepiece that retails for AUD$630.

But fast-forward just a couple of weeks, and the gold rush is definitely over. The secondary market for Royal Pop has crashed, leaving overly ambitious resellers desperate to offload their unwanted stock.

Why is the Market Tanking?

The immediate drop in resale value stems from a fundamental miscalculation of consumer demand. The Audemars Piguet x Swatch Royal Pop price, specs and release date details revealed an incredible 40mm modular design powered by the mechanical SISTEM51 movement. However, the format’s reality has been a tough pill for the mainstream market to swallow.

It isn’t a wristwatch. While watch enthusiasts appreciated the design as a clever homage to a vintage Audemars Piguet pocket watch, the broader public was deeply disappointed. It didn’t take long to see fans snub Swatch Audemars Piguet pocket watch online and in watch forums.

Now a niche accessory, it has unfortunately earned a reputation as the Labubu of watches. It’s basically a trendy, collectible toy that spends more time attached to a bag or lanyard than actually telling the time. While owners are already hunting for the best Swatch AP Royal Pop straps and aftermarket accessories to make the piece more wearable, it hasn’t been enough to prop up the initial FOMO-driven resale prices. Unsurprisingly, the only watches that are worth well over retail at this point are the “Savonnette” references with a crown at 3 o’clock.

Hard Numbers on “Last Sale” Data

When we take a quick look at the current StockX data, it tells us everything we need to know about the trajectory of the “Royal Pop.” Prices have plummeted across the board from their peak, with several models barely managing to eclipse their AUD$630-670 retail price, which is a far cry from the MoonSwatch margins resellers had been banking on.

Here is how the eight models are currently performing on the secondary market:

Flipper’s Dilemma

While the collection isn’t a limited release, Swatch has maintained its strict rule of one watch per person, per day, per store.

Normally, this artificial scarcity keeps secondary prices sky-high for months. But the Royal Pop is proving that scarcity only matters if the organic demand matches it.

For genuine collectors who love the quirky nature of this AP collaboration, this market correction is fantastic news. If you’re willing to wait a few more weeks, you’ll likely be able to pick up your favourite colourway for only a marginal premium over retail. But for the resellers who camped out overnight expecting to fund their next holiday? The Royal Pop has been a harsh reality check.