Swatch drops US$400 Royal Pop watch. Then ‘people got crazy’ from Hong Kong to US
In Paris, police deployed tear gas.
In Milan, a fist-fight erupted.
In Hong Kong, Singapore, London and New York, all-night queues snaked from the doors of Swatch stores – the latest examples of “drop culture” to flash across the globe when status symbols and resale value collide.
The company at the centre of it all, Swatch, is no stranger to over-the-top retail outbreaks, and said on May 18 that there is no shortage of its Royal Pop pocket watch – a collaboration with luxury watchmaker Audemars...
- ‘It was like a mosh pit’: Swatch closes stores as watch launch causes crowding and scuffles The Guardian —
- Video shows Swatch psychos stampede Long Island mall for special AP release as cop pepper-sprays mob NY Post —
- Chaos at Swatch stores as collaboration with luxury watchmaker Audemars Piguet launches, with anger, arrests and huge groups cutting in line ahead of fans who'd waited all night Daily Mail —
- Swatch-Audemars Piguet watch launch ignites global chaos, tear gas fired in Paris South China Morning Post —
- Mayhem breaks out at Swatch stores as fans rush to nab its Audemars Piguet pocket watch collab Business Insider —