And before the \u201cRoyal Pop\u201d watch collection went on sale on May 16 2026, excitement was already high. On release day, police and security teams were deployed in some places, with a tear gas incident in Paris<\/a> and fighting in Milan. In the UK and the US, Swatch responded to the intense demand by closing its stores<\/a>. <\/p>\n A popular product then, and a very effective marketing campaign to go with it. For Swatch, it is the third collaboration with a luxury watch brand in recent years. <\/p>\n The first two (with Omega<\/a> in 2022 and Blancpain<\/a> in 2023) were also successful<\/a>. <\/p>\n One reason for their success if that these partnerships allow consumers to own a little bit of elite watchmaking for a fraction of the cost (a \u201cnormal\u201d Audemars Piguet could cost tens of thousands of pounds). Like a Louis Vuitton passport cover<\/a> or a baseball cap made by Ferrari<\/a>, it\u2019s a token experience of an elite brand for those who can\u2019t regularly afford them.<\/p>\n From a business communications perspective, it\u2019s a way of introducing large groups of people to luxury brands. It\u2019s similar to how luxury car brands like Aston Martin and Lamborghini license their cars for use in video games such as Forza Horizon or Gran Turismo. <\/p>\n Meanwhile, Swatch gets free press and a positive spin for its entire product portfolio. <\/p>\n From a consumer perspective though, the picture is more complex. The recent frenzy over Swatch\u2019s watches should not be dismissed as merely herd mentality, and nor can it be explained by a sudden surge in demand for mechanical timepieces<\/a>. <\/p>\n Instead, our research<\/a> suggests that the response is a clear manifestation of something we call the \u201cenrichment economy\u201d \u2013 the fact that if something is in short supply and in high demand, it can be resold at a decent profit. <\/p>\n The enrichment economy has long been a feature of the world of art and antiques, but has also become a familiar part of mass market goods. Swatch has simply followed the example of certain trainers<\/a>, Pok\u00e9mon cards<\/a>, dolls<\/a>, and Lego sets<\/a>. For instance, the Lego Cloud City set (originally released in 2003 in limited quantities for about \u00a3100) now resells<\/a> at close to \u00a310,000. <\/p>\n Driven by the chance to make a quick but substantial buck, consumers go out of their way to buy certain products and then resell them for much more than they originally cost. <\/p>\n In the case of Swatch and Audemars Piguet, the evidence for that motivation is clear. The watches sell from the stores at \u00a3335, and are being almost immediately offered online for ten times that amount<\/a> \u2013 or even more. <\/p>\n As with other economies, the enrichment economy is prone to periods of boom and bust. For instance, the market for second hand luxury watches, which experienced unprecedented demand a few years ago<\/a>, has now hit a plateau<\/a>, forcing resellers to discover new markets with greater investment potential. <\/p>\n So while Swatch is at the centre of the enrichment economy in mid-May 2026, it could easily and quickly be overtaken by another brand or object very soon. And as the cost of living crisis continues, it seems highly likely that the enrichment economy will only expand as people look for ways to supplement their incomes with various side-hustles. <\/p>\n In the meantime, our research also suggests that big brands can do their bit to prevent customers getting so excited that they end up fighting with each other over popular products at shop fronts. <\/p>\n They could, for example, allocate sales using an online lottery system. Or they could prioritise trusted and loyal customers and increase the availability of their merchandise. <\/p>\n From a business and PR perspective, though, Swatch may already have won. By turning the collaboration into a talking point \u2013 and making scarcity, controversy and curiosity all work in its favour \u2013 the brand is having the time of its life.<\/p>\n The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" So now we know exactly what you get when you cross two distinct brands of Swiss watch-making, one affordable (Swatch) and one luxury (Audemars Piguet). You get a new model of watch that attracts massive hype, huge queues and brawling customers. For \u00a3335, you might also get your hands on a colourful pocket watch. But […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-504","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/504","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=504"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/504\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=504"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=504"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=504"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Watch what you wish for<\/h2>\n
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