Sandra‘s Closet

Royal Pop: Is Swatch About to Give the Royal Oak the MoonSwatch Treatment?
And if so, should AP fans be worried?

The watch world woke up on May 6, 2026 to something that stopped even the most seasoned collectors mid-scroll. On the morning of May 6, advertising appeared simultaneously across major newspapers and digital platforms bearing only the Swatch logo and two cryptic words in Audemars Piguet’s signature font: «Royal» and «Pop.» Within hours, the speculation had gone from whisper to wildfire.

One of my favorite watches in my collection: The Royal Oak Frosted Gold

The Clues Are Almost Too Obvious
Let us be honest: this is not subtle. The first piece of visual evidence is in the typography used for the word «Royal,» which matches the iconic Audemars Piguet Royal Oak script almost exactly. The second teaser word, «Pop,» features the P overlapping the O, a design choice that perfectly mirrors the iconic O overlapping the A on the traditional Audemars Piguet caseback logo. If you know the Royal Oak, you know that logo. There is no other watch on earth it could reference.

Swatch’s first teaser was posted on May 3, 2026.

And it goes deeper than the font. Swatch AG filed for trademark protection on the name «ROYAL POP» in international class 14, the trademark class specifically for jewellery and watches, with an international filing dated June 18, 2024. Companies do not register trademarks they do not intend to use.
There is also the now-legendary social media breadcrumb: during the Swatch x Blancpain launch, the Audemars Piguet official Instagram account reportedly waded into the conversation asking, «when do we launch?» At the time, everyone laughed it off. Nobody is laughing now.

Could It Be a Pocket Watch?
Here is where things get genuinely fascinating and where I find myself genuinely intrigued as an AP obsessive. Back at Watches and Wonders in April, Swatch launched an ad campaign teasing «the real wonders are happening in May,» alongside what looked like lanyards in eight colors, which are definitely not watch bands. Some online have speculated it could be a pocket watch.

The second teaser on May 4, 2026 delivers another hint.

The lanyard and clac! teasers suggest this could be more than a Royal Oak reinterpreted in plastic. It may be a modular accessory, referencing the vintage 90s Pop Swatch era, where the case could be worn on the wrist or hung around the neck, a possible 2-in-1 design unlike anything Swatch has released before.

A pocket watch. In 2026. Carrying the Royal Oak DNA. I have to admit, that is a genuinely clever left turn.
This Will Be Massive. And I Have Complicated Feelings About It.

Let me be clear: if this drops on May 16, the queues outside Swatch boutiques will make the original MoonSwatch launch look like a quiet Tuesday morning. When the Omega x Swatch MoonSwatch landed in 2022, traditionalists dismissed it as a hype-beast gimmick. The market disagreed, and it became the blueprint for the most aggressive and successful marketing strategy in modern watchmaking.

Just an idea … but one that I would love.

But here is the difference, and it is a significant one. A Swatch x Audemars Piguet project would be a far more unexpected pairing than Swatch’s previous collaborations with Omega and Blancpain, both of which sit within Swatch Group. Audemars Piguet is independent, making such a collaboration far more consequential.

As someone who considers the Royal Oak Frosted Gold one of the most beautiful objects ever to sit on a wrist and one of my favorite watches in my closet, I find myself genuinely torn. Part of me understands the commercial logic. AP almost certainly watched the «CasioOak» G-Shock craze with interest. A collaboration like this means they profit further from one of the most iconic watch designs ever made.

But the Royal Oak is not just a watch. It is Gerald Genta’s act of rebellion against the quartz crisis, a steel sports watch that dared to cost as much as a gold dress watch in 1972. Its mystique is inseparable from its exclusivity, from the years-long waitlists, from the sense that owning one means something. The moment the silhouette lives on a lanyard sold at a Swatch boutique for a few hundred francs, something irreversible happens to that mythology. You cannot un-democratize an icon.

Does that mean it is wrong? Not necessarily. The MoonSwatch did not kill the Speedmaster. If anything, it created a generation of new Omega admirers. But the Speedmaster was never quite the same cultural touchstone as the Royal Oak. The stakes here feel different.

The Audemars Piguet Diamond Outrage on display at Watches and Wonders 2026.

But what if Royal Pop is not just about color? Cast your mind back to AP’s own history of pushing boundaries: the Diamond Punk in 2015, Diamond Fury in 2016, and Diamond Outrage in 2017. Sculptural, almost aggressive high jewellery pieces that had nothing to do with restraint. And on the Swatch side: the original Pop Swatch era was never just round. Crazy shapes, bold forms, watches that were closer to wearable art than timekeeping. Put those two DNA strands together and Royal Pop could be something far more radical than a Royal Oak in BioCeramic. It could be a shape we have never seen before.

What Would It Look Like?
No official renders exist yet. But based on the teaser clues, expect the unmistakable octagonal bezel, the eight visible screws, and that famous tapisserie dial, all reimagined in Swatch’s lightweight bioceramic. Bright, saturated colorways. And if the lanyard theory holds, a modular case that flips between wrist and pocket, which would be genuinely new territory for any collaboration of this kind.

All concept renders in this post were created by me using artificial intelligence, imagining what Royal Pop could look like before the world gets to see the real thing on May 16, 2026. I had really fun creating them, please scroll down for all other versions.

My Verdict
I will be watching the launch date with the same mix of excitement and apprehension you feel when someone tells you they are about to remake your favorite film. The Royal Pop will almost certainly be a cultural moment. Whether it is good for the Royal Oak long-term is a question AP’s board will be answering for years.

What do you think? Does giving the Royal Oak the MoonSwatch treatment feel like genius, or like a step too far?

LoL, Sandra

 

Photos: Via Swatch and © Sandra Bauknecht
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Straight from sunny Florence I flew to back to snowy Switzerland to visit the manufacture of Audemars Piguet in Le Brassus in the Vallée de Joux. Being the oldest fine watchmaker that is still in the hands of its founding families (Audemars and Piguet), I had the chance to indulge in the brand’s history and to explore the craftsmanship first hand.

Wearing a work coat and shoe covers for protection at the manufacture.

The modern part of the manufacture.

Since 1875, the company has written some of the finest chapters in the history of Haute Horlogerie, including a number of world firsts. At the heart of the Swiss Jura, numerous masterpieces are created in limited series embodying a remarkable degree of horological perfection, including daring sporty models, classic and traditional timepieces, splendid ladies’ jewellery-watches, as well as one-of-a-kind creations.

I was deeply impressed seeing the precision that goes into the assemblage of the 3120 movement that comes also with my favorite watch, the Royal Oak Frosted Gold  – 37 mm .

The entrance to the museum.

Over the years, Audemars Piguet has collected vintage models that are beautifully presented in the in-house museum that is only open to private tours.

An impressive family history

Musical watch, around 1840, Piguet & Meyland

Repetition Minutes, 1875, Louis Audemars

The first Royal Oak was designed by Gérald Genta in 1972.

Until today, all information on sold watches are written down by hand. In the ’30s, customers included Bulgari, Van Cleef and Bucherer.

At the moment, Audemars Piguet is building a new museum in Le Brassus designed by Danish architectural firm BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group). Incorporating the existing building, the new form of a hairspring will showcase the history of the oldest, family owned watchmaker (see below).

LoL, Sandra

Collage and last photo: Courtesy of Audemars Piguet, all other photos: © Sandra Bauknecht

This week, I went to Geneva for the 23rd Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie – SIHH 2013. Of course, my first stop had to be the IWC Schaffhausen booth that had been once more the most impressive one seen at the famous watch fair. Do you remember the amazing Italian ’50s/’60s theme for the Portofino watches in 2011 or the aircraft carrier for the Pilot watches in 2012?

Speaking of IWC Schaffhausen, you are talking superlatives which is entirely in keeping with the creative spirit that reigns at the Swiss watchmaking company. After the amazing launches and events of the last years, I had been pretty curious if this could be topped. And yes, they did it! As director Marc Forster said, “arriving at the IWC booth feels like arriving at a film set”. And this time, I arrived at a race track. The booth was filled not only with the most exquisite watches, but with the most stunning race cars you can imagine.

So ladies and gentlem, start your engines. In 2013, IWC Schaffhausen embarks on the Formula One season as the Official Engineering Partner of the MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS Formula One™ Team and relaunches the Ingenieur family that appears in a new, modern and very impressive light.

Georges Kern, CEO of IWC Schaffhausen, puts his finger on it when he says: “Three outstanding quality features set the new Ingenieur collection apart: top-quality IWC movements, sophisticated functions and innovative materials.”

The story of the Ingenieur is strongly connected to the rapid progress made during the 1950s when technological progress dramatically increased the presence of magnetic fields. The Ingenieur, a pure and simple man’s watch, became famous as the antimagnetic watch of that time. When in 1976, IWC Schaffhausen unveiled the “Ingenieur SL” designed by Gérald Genta (above on display at the booth), an icon was born.

In 2013, the Ingenieur has become the perfect watch for the racetrack as the set-up of a Formula One™ racing car and the assembly of a high-precision timepiece, both exemplify the art of engineering at the highest-possible level. Materials used in motorsport, such as carbon fibre, ceramics and titanium, are the hallmarks of the new design line.

My favourite model: The Ingenieur Automatic Carbon Performance (Ref. 3224) features a rubber strap with a textile inlay, which is stitched with signal-yellow or red thread.

Personally speaking, it’s one thing to look at those photos and read all about those new must-have timepieces, but it’s quite another to strap them on your wrist and examine them up close. The new Ingenieur watches will surely be a hit for IWC, so better race to the next IWC dealer and get your hands on them. The pole position will be all yours, at least style-wise.

What a beauty: The Ingenieur Perpetual Calendar Digital Date-Month (Ref. 3792) features a perpetual calendar together with a digital date display and leap year indicator.

Have fun exploring whom I spotted at the booth and stay tuned for more photos coming up, especially from the amazing IWC Race Night with top celebrities from all over the world.

LoL, Sandra

Michela Cerruti, daughter of Aldo Cerruti, an Italian racing driver that might be soon spotted driving the Formula One tracks.

German soccer goalkeeper Jens Lehmann

German actor Thomas Kretschmann

Former French soccer player Zinédine Zidane with me

Actor Ralf Moeller

From left to right: Zinédine Zidane, Ralf Moeller and Jean Reno

Boris Becker with me

Photos: © Sandra Bauknecht, Photos of 2nd collage: Courtesy of IWC