{"id":427267,"date":"2026-05-14T12:35:13","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T12:35:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/427267\/"},"modified":"2026-05-14T12:35:13","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T12:35:13","slug":"audemars-piguet-swatch-revive-the-pocket-watch-with-playful-twist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/427267\/","title":{"rendered":"audemars piguet & swatch revive the pocket watch with playful twist"},"content":{"rendered":"

audemars piguet x swatch unveil royal pop collection<\/p>\n

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Swiss watchmakers Audemars Piguet<\/a> and Swatch merge haute horlogerie with pop-inspired irreverence in the new Royal Pop collection, a collaboration that reimagines the iconic Royal Oak as a wearable pocket watch<\/a>. Launching on May 16th, 2026, the series introduces eight pocket watches made from Swatch\u2019s proprietary Bioceramic material, a composite blending ceramic powder with biosourced components derived from castor oil. The collaboration combines Audemars Piguet\u2019s angular luxury watch codes with the colorful modular spirit of Swatch\u2019s 1980s POP watches.<\/p>\n

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The Royal Pop collection pushes the silhouette of the Royal Oak into unfamiliar territory. Each model arrives in either L\u00e9pine or Savonnette style, referencing historic pocket watch typologies while embracing a brighter, more playful aesthetic rooted in Pop Art. The watches can be worn in multiple ways using interchangeable lanyards, allowing them to hang around the neck or attach to clothing.<\/p>\n

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images courtesy of Audemars Piguet and Swatch<\/p>\n

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from royal oak to a new generation of watch collectors<\/p>\n

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A newly developed hand-wound version of Swatch\u2019s SISTEM51 movement sits at the center of every Royal Pop model. Known for its industrial simplicity and mechanical efficiency, the movement is reworked here with colorful detailing visible through the back of the watch, introducing a more expressive visual language to traditional mechanics. The project also nods to lesser-known chapters of Audemars Piguet\u2019s history<\/a>, particularly the ultra-thin polygonal pocket watches the brand experimented with during the 1960s and 70s, decades before the Royal Oak became one of the defining luxury sports watches of the modern era.<\/p>\n

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The collaboration arrives at a moment when luxury watchmaking increasingly seeks younger audiences through experimentation, collectibility, and unconventional formats. \u2018Why this collaboration? For the joy and boldness it represents,\u2019 notes Chief Executive Officer at Audemars Piguet Ilaria Resta. \u2018Because audacity is often the starting point of innovation and new ideas. And because it invites a broader audience, including younger generations, to experience mechanical watchmaking differently.\u2019<\/p>\n

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Beyond the release itself, Audemars Piguet says it will dedicate 100 percent of its proceeds from the collaboration toward initiatives supporting the preservation and transmission of watchmaking savoir-faire, particularly rare craft techniques and education for future generations of horological talent. Available exclusively through selected Swatch stores, the Royal Pop Collection approaches the luxury watch as a wearable object shaped through styling and personal use, rather than a purely traditional timepiece.<\/p>\n

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Audemars Piguet references its historic polygonal pocket watches from the 1960s and 70s<\/p>\n

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the Bioceramic Royal Pop Collection reimagines the Royal Oak as a wearable pocket watch<\/p>\n

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Swatch and Audemars Piguet combine pastel tones with angular Bioceramic forms<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"audemars piguet x swatch unveil royal pop collection \u00a0 Swiss watchmakers Audemars Piguet and Swatch merge haute horlogerie…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":427268,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[45661,156,157,111,139,69,69356],"class_list":["post-427267","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-audemars-piguet","tag-entertainment","tag-music","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-timepiece-design"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/427267","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=427267"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/427267\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/427268"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=427267"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=427267"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=427267"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}