Is There Another MoonSwatch Type Collaboration on the way?
Swatch appears to be teasing a new partnership with one of the industry’s most prestigious luxury brands
Swatch appears to be teasing a new partnership with one of the industry’s most prestigious luxury brands. Swatch is teasing something big for May 16th. It started over the weekend when a pair of newspaper advertisements with small bits of dials and a movement appeared in The Guardian. The ads seemed to suggest that Swatch was cooking up something similar to the MoonSwatch, a miracle series of high-low collaborations with Omega that caught fire in the industry. On Wednesday morning, Swatch shared a video with clues as to who this next partner may be. Which has us asking: Is there really about to be a Swatch-made version of Audemars Piguet Royal Oak?!
All the signs seem to suggest that the Royal Oak is the next watch that Swatch will translate to the masses. The teaser video posted this morning flashes the word “Royal” in AP’s distinctive font followed by “Pop.” The use of bright colors suggests there will be a pop art spin on the recognizable Royal Oak. (Representatives for Swatch and Audemars Piguet declined to comment.)
If this is a RoyalSwatch/SwatchOak, don’t expect it to be a traditional wristwatch. A previous clip shared earlier this week shows a set of colorful straps you would wear around your neck. Putting on my Sherlock Holmes deerstalker hat for a moment: the straps might hint that the collaboration will be on a pocket watch in the Royal Oak’s recognizable octagonal shape.
We know there was admiration for the MoonSwatch project within the highest levels of AP. François-Henry Bennahmias, the brand’s CEO until the end of 2023, praised Omega’s partnership with Swatch. “Their collaboration is a great idea, which does not affect the integrity of Omega at all, contrary to what you may have heard,” he told Luxury Tribune in 2022. “Why is that? Because it educates the younger generation about the icons of watchmaking.”
That perspective might explain why AP would be willing to make a mass version of the Royal Oak. The design is one of the most famous creations of designer Gérald Genta, who also created the Patek Philippe Nautilus. The watch has become the de facto I Made It watch for athletes and musicians alike. For many, like designer Matthew Williams, it became a grail they spent years thinking about before finally being able to get one themselves. “Kanye had one when I first met him,” he told me in 2019. “It was 2006 or 2007, and he was the first person to have one that I ever saw. It took a long time to save up to be able to get the one I always wanted.”
If Swatch really is bringing the Royal Oak to the masses, it will represent an even bigger coup for customers. While the Speedmaster’s $7,800 sticker price is certainly out of reach for most people, the Royal Oak’s base model starts at around $30,000. This would be a grail piece at the pinnacle of luxury watchmaking transforming into something much more accessible with Swatch.
Swatch has had mixed results with these high-low collaborations. While the MoonSwatch was a phenomenon, the second project with Blancpain and its historic diver, the Fifty Fathoms, didn’t have the same cultural impact. If this third partnership is really with Audemars Piguet and the Royal Oak, as all signs seem to point, I would bet Swatch stores will be mobbed again upon its release.
