Audemars Piguet’s Royal Pop launch turns into chaos

A viral Audemars Piguet and Swatch pocket watch launch sparked hours-long queues, barricade-jumping, and police tear gas in multiple cities—prompting delays and raising a high-stakes question for the brand: can a luxury halo survive mass hype?

At 5 a.m. on a Saturday in Mumbai, Zerxes Wadia arrived at the Phoenix Palladium mall to chase a viral prize: an Audemars Piguet and Swatch “Royal Pop” pocket watch collection.

By the time he reached the storefront, the excitement had already turned into a test of endurance.. Wadia found himself shoulder-to-shoulder with hundreds of people. packed into a long queue outside the Swatch store—an early-morning rush that was meant to end in a small. colorful watch. priced around $400 each.

Then the clock changed.

On May 16, about 8:30 a.m., Wadia said people began jumping barricades, running into the store, and breaking a security checkpoint.. With access restricted to the mall. some people reportedly booked the padel and pickleball courts on-site to try to gain entry. and Wadia said others were even buying movie tickets to random showings so they could enter through the cinema.

The chaos cost everyone time—and, for many, the chance to buy.

Wadia said the launch event was eventually canceled, and that he “walked out disappointed.” He also said scalpers and resellers were in the queue, not just fans.

What unfolded in Mumbai mirrored a broader pattern.. Wadia was one of thousands stuck in snaking queues outside Swatch stores around the world. from Singapore to New York City.. Swatch and the partner brand had said the collection would remain available for “several months. ” but fans treated it like a limited-edition drop.

To manage the fallout. Swatch said in a press release that queues of more than 50 people would not be allowed and that sales may need to be paused.. “To ensure the safety of both our customers and our staff in Swatch stores. we kindly ask you not to rush to our stores in large numbers to acquire this product. ” Swatch said after the launch.

An Audemars Piguet spokesperson later told Business Insider that, given the “scale of public turnout observed in certain markets,” Swatch had to delay the launch for safety reasons. Swatch did not respond to a request for comment.

The collection was built for a different kind of buyer—one drawn in by aspiration, not by heritage alone.

Compared with Audemars Piguet’s most popular watches—its Royal Oak line. which goes for more than $40. 000—the “Royal Pop” pocket watch collection sits in an “aspirational luxury” lane.. The watches feature the octagonal face from Audemars Piguet’s iconic Royal Oak. but with “funky” color combinations including yellow and pink. and orange and blue.. Each one comes attached to a leather lanyard. making it something fans can wear like a bag charm—a Gen Z favorite accessory.

That design matched the way the product traveled online. A Singaporean DJ and YouTuber, Jade Rasif, posted a TikTok swapping out the Pop Mart’s viral Labubu on her Hermès Birkin for a black “Royal Pop” pocket watch.

Brand strategists framed the collaboration as a deliberate move to reach younger luxury shoppers.. Molly Frampton. a strategy director at New York-based brand consultancy Interbrand. said the collaboration is a “bold opportunity for both brands: to stretch. expand. and have a bit of fun.” Vicky Bullen. CEO of London-based branding agency Coley Porter Bell. said the collection is tailored for younger aspirational customers who are aware of Audemars Piguet’s heritage. but “could not fork out thousands of pounds for one of their watches.”

Still, the same accessibility that pulls in new buyers can also attract the kind of behavior that makes premium customers question what they’re buying into.

In Paris, French police deployed tear gas to break up the crowd. In Milan, fights broke out in a store line.

Eugene Tutunikov, CEO of secondhand luxury watch retailer SwissWatchExpo, said the scene clashed with the promise implied by luxury horology.. “Nothing says ‘luxury horology’ quite like police dogs and tear gas, right?” Tutunikov said.. He added that while hype can be a marketer’s dream. getting pepper-sprayed “isn’t exactly the premium customer experience anyone is looking for when trying to buy a timepiece.”

Tutunikov argued that selling an accessible watch like the “Royal Pop” collection dilutes Audemars Piguet’s brand.. He pointed to Rolex as an example of a similar strategy aimed at aspirational buyers. but with its lower-priced option in the stable: Tudor.. Tutunikov said Tudor watches typically cost around $5. 000. while a higher-tier Rolex model like a Daytona starts at $19. 000 and can go up to $75. 000. according to the California-based watch retailer Bob’s Watches.. He compared Rolex choosing Audemars Piguet’s approach to launching a “neon plastic Daytona.”

Bullen offered a sharper customer-experience warning from the perspective of brand perception. Hours of waiting followed by empty hands, she said, would likely leave customers with a bitter taste toward Swatch—and possibly toward Audemars Piguet as well.

There is another way to read the spectacle: as a brand strategy powered by scarcity.

Bullen said chaos can be useful in a scarcity economy. Scarcity has been a recurring playbook for collectibles in recent years—watches, toys, blind boxes, and even Trader Joe’s tote bags—where limited-edition drops boost street credibility, even when they bring long lines and scuffles.

Joshua Ganjei, CEO of Boston-based watch retailer European Watch Company, said the commotion on Saturday was unfortunate, but it also drove coverage toward Audemars Piguet. “I’m sure AP is quietly very pleased with how the whole thing unfolded,” Ganjei said.

For now, the question hanging over the “Royal Pop” pocket watches is whether turning a luxury icon into a viral, mass-queue event expands the audience—or erodes the premium feel that made the brand desirable in the first place.

Audemars Piguet Swatch Royal Pop pocket watch Royal Oak Zerxes Wadia Mumbai Phoenix Palladium Mumbai launch May 16 scarcity economy luxury branding scalpers tear gas Swatch press release brand strategy