Audemars Piguet watch prices stabilize after collaboration with Swatch

When famous luxury watch brand Audemars Piguet announced a collaboration with Swatch last month, some Audemars collectors feared the worst.

Rapper DDG said he would sell his $180,000 Audemars Piguet if the collaboration becomes too big and the brand becomes cheap. Members of the self-proclaimed horology community have warned that one of the “holy trinity” of watch brands known for their innovative complications, features and design has been made of plastic.

However, even weeks after the release of the AP-Swatch Royal Pop collection, AP prices on the secondary market have remained stable. Despite the predicted collapse of Audemars Piguet’s brand value and exclusivity, experts say AP is still AP.

“Since launch, there has been no noticeable impact on AP prices,” said Hamza Masoud, head of partnerships at WatchCharts, which tracks secondary values ​​for all major AP models.

It’s still early, of course, but Massoud said Royal Pop, a collection of brightly colored watches on straps, is part of AP’s long-term strategy to attract the next generation of collectors.

AP’s signature Royal Oak watches typically retail for more than $50,000 and have a multi-year waiting list. Royal Pop makes the brand more accessible to younger buyers and more women.

“Fundamentally, everyone recognizes that this is not going to materially erode AP capital in any real and meaningful way,” Massoud said. “This product is not designed to be a wristwatch and does not dilute the experience for Royal Oak collectors.”

Still, AP faces some challenges in the market.

After a luxury watch speculative bubble emerged during the pandemic, the luxury watch market plummeted in 2022 and is only now starting to stabilize.

The AP Index, a watch chart made up of the brand’s top 30 models, is down about 40% from its 2022 peak. Two other “big three” luxury watchmakers, Rolex and Patek Philippe, have similarly fallen from their peaks.

According to WatchCharts, AP’s secondary prices rose 2% in the first quarter, compared to 1.7% for Rolex and 3% for Patek. AP’s inventory is older than its peers, suggesting a large mismatch between demand and supply.

“The Associated Press (so far) has not seen the same level of market recovery as the other two Big Three companies,” Massoud said.

Still, he said Royal Pop gave the AP something money can rarely buy: a cultural buzz on social media and digital news. The explosion of attention will pique the interest of teenagers and 20-somethings, who will one day be able to buy a Royal Oak.

For a company that only makes about 50,000 watches a year compared to Rolex’s more than 1 million and remains family-run, AP’s investment is measured in decades, not quarters or years.

“Their bet is that while the gnashing of teeth among these collectors may mean a loss of credibility for the watch, in return they are gaining cultural credibility in front of a wider audience,” Massoud said. “I think they’re buying more (cachet) in the long run.”