Swiss watchmaker Swatch closed dozens of its stores on Saturday as large crowds queued to try to get their hands on Royal Pop pocket watches from its collaboration with luxury watchmaker Audemars Piguet.
The frenzy prompted police intervention in stores from London to New York and disappointed customers who queued for hours to buy the colorful pop art-inspired watches, which cost between $400 and $420.
A video shared on social media showed a chaotic scene at the Roosevelt Field Mall on Long Island as police officers appeared to use pepper spray to subdue the crowd.
Hundreds of shoppers also swarmed Swatch stores in Times Square and SoHo in Manhattan, resulting in at least one arrest, according to the New York Police Department.
In posts on several of its social media pages, Swatch said it had closed more than 30 stores “in light of public safety considerations.”
Saturday was aimed at the global launch of the Bioceramic Royal Pop collection of pocket watches from Swatch and Audemars Piguet, a luxury Swiss watchmaker whose core products sell for $20,000. The collection's eight colorful watches were inspired by Audemars Piguet's luxury Royal Oak watch and Swatch's more affordable POP line from the 1980s.
Ahead of the launch, Swatch said on its website that the pocket watches would be “available for purchase only in selected Swatch stores worldwide.” In social media posts, the company implored its customers “not to flock to our stores to purchase this product,” adding that this was not a limited-edition collection.
Swatch also said on Instagram that some countries couldn't accommodate lines of more than 50 people, but that didn't stop watch fans in places as disparate as Singapore and a Detroit suburb from lining up in the hundreds on Saturday morning.
Ultimately, Swatch closed stores in Paris, London, Dubai, Toronto, Atlanta and dozens of other cities due to crowds.
Frustrated buyers took to social media to complain about the canceled sales, with many calling on Swatch to allow people to buy watches from the collaboration online.
Several people lamented having queued for days or rushing to their local shopping centers at 4 a.m., only to be escorted out of Swatch stores by authorities.
The King of Prussia Mall in Pennsylvania delayed its opening until noon Saturday after authorities dispersed hundreds of people competing for watches, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
The watch resale market may be causing some of the hysteria. Many of the lucky buyers who purchased the pocket watches on Saturday had already listed them for sale on eBay for thousands of dollars.
The collaboration has given watch fans a unique opportunity to purchase an Audemars Piguet product at a comparatively affordable price.
