Audemars Piguet X Swatch

The watch lovers are the biggest phonies in the world of horology.

Well there is an inherent contradiction here though, isn't there? If it is true that the general public doesn't care about luxury, then it is also true these brands must pivot away from luxury.

Chasing TikTok audiences and appealing to influencer culture is certainly necessary to capture the Millennial, Gen Z and beyond market. You're not gonna get them with print ads. The only reason these influencers are successful is because huge numbers do pay attention to them and listen to what they say, or more specifically buy the products they shill. The only risk is that you alienate the old money and fail to capture the new money, then you're up shit creek.

Back in the early 2010's, when Rolex was still a title sponsor of Formula 1, Bernie Ecclestone completely dismissed social media and specifically the value of bringing in new (young) fans, saying almost verbatim that he doesn't care if they watch F1 because they can't afford a Rolex. He banned social media content being recorded. At the time, Rolex was reportedly paying somewhere between $10m to $50m annually for that sponsorship.

After Bernie sold, the new owner Liberty Media embraced and encouraged social media, launched multiple Netflix shows and a Hollywood movie, and consequently Formula 1's viewership among new fans absolutely exploded. So much so that in the past year, Rolex lost their title sponsorship because they were outbid by Tag Heuer to the tune of $150m.

When it comes to the MoonSwatch, I imagine Omega thinks it will be a pipeline to get new fans into a real Speedy. I think the jury is out on whether that's worked, but I find that a much easier leap than the AP Pop getting new fans into a Royal Oak, somehow.

Delugs already sharing bracelet concepts but china is already working toward designs that are more on the nose for RO. Disposable timepieces are a tragedy.

So I orginally thought that AP were like we want to just capture a large share of the Casioak etc market and just make some cash, but then them drawing a line at saying its just a pocket watch still keeps the RO special - however did they not forsee the same modders who did casioaks would just do it to the pocketwatch