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Swatch has temporarily closed its stores across multiple UK cities after an overwhelming response to the release of a new limited-edition watch. Hundreds of eager customers formed long queues outside branches in cities including Birmingham, Cardiff, Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester, and Sheffield, leading to the decision to shut these shops for the time being.
The launch centered on the “Royal Pop” pocket watch, a collaborative creation between Swatch and the luxury watchmaker Audemars Piguet. This collection includes eight distinct models, each priced at £335. Despite this relatively affordable price point, some of the watches have quickly appeared for resale online at dramatically inflated prices, with listings reaching up to £16,000.
Known primarily for their vibrant and colourful designs since the 1980s, Swatch described this partnership with Audemars Piguet as “a disruptive collaboration between two icons of Swiss watchmaking.” The company emphasized the watches’ bold design inspiration drawn from the Pop Art movement of the 1950s and 60s, calling it “a groundbreaking watch collection that combines joyful boldness and positive provocation with fine watchmaking.” BBC News has reached out to Swatch for further comment on the situation.
The launch event has also seen significant challenges outside the UK, with queues forming internationally. In New York, some fans camped outside stores for an entire week, with reports of individuals becoming unwell from the wait. Additionally, a planned launch event at Dubai Mall had to be cancelled after a large crowd gathered. In the UK, police responses were required after reports of aggressive behavior among some crowd members outside the Liverpool store early on Saturday, but officers managed to disperse the crowd quickly. Meanwhile, anticipation continues to build at Swatch’s headquarters in Biel, Switzerland, where more fans have been gathering
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