One company sells millions of low-cost watches a year, the other makes luxury watches that have sold for millions. Together, Swatch and Audemars Piguet have sparked a “high-meets-low” retail frenzy that saw scenes of mayhem unfold in cities around the world over the weekend.
From Paris to Kuala Lumpur, long lines formed outside Swatch stores ahead of Saturday’s launch of “Royal Pop,” a series of cheerfully colored pocket watches modeled on AP’s iconic Royal Oak. Billed by the companies as “a disruptive collaboration between two icons of Swiss watchmaking,” hype around the long-anticipated collection exploded online after the designs were revealed last week.
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