This is an edition of the newsletter Box + Papers, Cam Wolf’s weekly deep dive into the world of watches. Sign up here.
We were waiting for our Smash burgers to arrive when my four-year-old asked me about the new watch I had on the belt loop of my pants. Given the carousel of excellent watches coming in and out of my house for a test drive, these types of questions occur frequently, and I’ll often try to get him interested in a bright dial or clicky chronograph function. It usually ends with a polite, “I like your new watch, Grandpa.” But the Swatch x Audemars Piguet Royal Pop evoked a much deeper reaction from my son.
Sitting at the table, I turned over my black and white “Ocho Negro” edition to show the caseback to my son. Unlike most other watches that retail for under $400, the back of the Royal Pop is openworked to reveal the mechanical movement. While we waited for our food an impromptu lesson on how clocks worked began. This moment with my son gave me a whole new appreciation for mega-hyped collaborations: Were such heart-touching timepieces what 101 Chat AP and Swatch always had in mind?
As I pointed to the barrel, my son noticed the small circular tin that houses the mainspring, the source of power for every mechanical watch. The caseback of the Royal Pop goes to great lengths to show you every possible function, including a series of small holes in the barrel that allow you to see the spring inside. Although a visible mainspring is not entirely unique among openwork watches, it is generally only seen on a very large number of watches, excess More expensive options, such as $28,500 Bulgari Octo Finissimo or Cartier’s skeletonized $33,500 Santos. (The most affordable version I found is Rado’s $4,600 Anatome Skeleton.)
Looking down at the watch, I felt the impact of the smart changes Audemars Piguet and Swatch have made to the specific engines inside their watches. The Royal Pop intentionally lacks a rotor, the small flat weight that rotates inside and powers the automatic movement. Before the Royal Pop, every mechanical Swatch was automatic. But the movements inside companion pocket watches are manual, so I had to wind my watches regularly to keep them ticking. And today, sometime before reaching the burger joint, the clock ran out of power. Luckily, Dead Royal Pop was perfect for my performance.
