Swatch’s luxury watch ‘Royal Pop’ creates global craze:Mumbai sales cancelled after crowd go into frenzy; Paris sees similar chaos

A unique craze is being observed worldwide for the new limited edition ‘Royal Pop’ pocket watch by Swiss company Swatch and luxury watchmaker Audemars Piguet.
Even before the announcement of its launch on May 16, people had been queuing outside stores for several days to buy it. After its launch on May 16, a chaotic situation arose in many cities across Europe, America, and the Middle East. There were fights in some places, stores had to be closed in others, and in many areas, police even had to be called to manage the situation.
Even after two days, Swatch stores remain closed in many cities. Swatch has requested people in a social media post not to come to the stores in large numbers. Typically, Audemars Piguet watches cost millions of rupees, but this special pocket watch is available at a much lower price. People hope that it can be sold at a higher price later.
For this reason, young buyers, collectors, and resellers are arriving in large numbers to purchase it. On several websites, its resale price is being reported as many times higher than the launch price. Watches sold online for up to ₹20 lakh These watches blend the octagonal design of Audemars Piguet’s famous ‘Royal Oak’ series with the ‘Pop’ style of Swatch from the 80s. For the first time, Swatch has incorporated its iconic System51 mechanical movement, transforming it into a hand-wound caliber. They feature a transparent sapphire caseback, an open mainspring barrel, and premium Super-LumiNova coating, providing good visibility even at night. These watches, designed by copying the multi-crore Audemars Piguet watches, are available for around 350 pounds (₹45,000). These watches have been sold online for up to 16,000 pounds (₹20 lakh). Police called to manage crowds in London, Paris In New York, several people camping outside the store fell ill. In London, police dogs had to be deployed. In Paris, police had to use tear gas. Police also had to be called in Milan. Launch events were canceled in several cities, including Dubai. India: Heavy crowd in Mumbai-Delhi, event cancelled A huge crowd gathered at the Swatch boutique located in Palladium Mall, Mumbai, and the Select Citywalk store in Delhi, India. Long queues had formed several hours before the launch in both cities. Considering security reasons, the launch event itself was cancelled.