People hoping to purchase the viral Swatch x Audemars Piguet pocket watch at Somerset Collection won’t be able to get one there after all.
Following an early gathering Saturday that became disruptive, the company canceled the sale. When stores reopened earlier this week, Somerset Collection was not among the locations on the list of stores selling the popular watch on site.
The mall in Troy was among several locations that were closed Saturday after large crowds formed for the drop of the collaboration between Swatch and Audemars Piguet. Police were called as the crowd grew and the event was shut down before the sale started.
In a statement, the company said that the response to the Royal Pop Collection “has been phenomenal worldwide, and demand is extremely high.”
They said that in about 20 Swatch stores out of 220 globally where the collection launched, “challenges arose on launch day because the queues of interested customers were exceptionally long, and the organization of some shopping malls was not sufficient to handle this level of turnout.”
The Swatch x Audemars Piguet, also known as AP, pocket watch is a collaboration between high-end Audemars Piguet and Swatch. While Audemars Piguet watches sell for thousands, the Swatch collaboration ranges from $400 to $420.
The company said the collaboration has driven significant online interest, with “millions of clicks” on the company website and social media engagement reaching more than 6 billion views within a week, later increasing to about 11 billion. Officials added that the Royal Pop Collection has drawn global attention in part because it is not a wristwatch.
Based on the store locator, the watches can be purchased in-person at U.S. stores in Honolulu; Denver; Austin, Texas; Las Vegas; Nashville, Tennessee; Tampa, Florida; Atlanta; Miami Beach; Dallas; Oak Brook, Illinois; Garden City, New York; New York City; Charlotte, North Carolina; Houston; Canoga Park, California, and Santa Clara, California.
cwilliams@detroitnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Viral Swatch x Audemars Piguet watch won’t be sold at Somerset Collection after frenzy
Reporting by Candice Williams, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
