Crowds Gather at Mall at Millenia for Limited-Edition Swatch Release, Many Leave Empty-Handed A limited-edition collaboration between Swatch and Audemars Piguet drew hundreds of people to The Mall at Millenia over the weekend, but many collectors and resellers left the event without securing a watch. The “Royal Pop” collection features pocket watches attached to lanyards, with removable watch mechanisms that can be swapped into different cases. Matthew Salano of Deltona noted that the collection included six color options priced at $400 each, with two variants priced at $420. Salano, who arrived at the mall around 5 a.m. and stayed until 6 p.m., highlighted the stark price difference between the Swatch-Audemars Piguet collaboration and traditional Audemars Piguet watches, which can retail for upwards of $50,000. Another collector, Cory Kehoe of Daytona Beach, arrived even earlier, at 3 a.m., but also left without a purchase. Kehoe described how Orlando police blocked access to the store throughout the day, preventing customers from entering. The Mall at Millenia later posted on social media confirming that the Swatch location would remain closed on Saturday and Sunday. Kehoe criticized the event’s organization, calling it “bad organization” on the part of both Swatch and the mall, and suggested better coordination could have allowed more customers to purchase watches. Swatch issued a statement on Instagram and Facebook, clarifying that the “Royal Pop” collection would remain available for several months. The brand also noted that in some countries, queues exceeding 50 people could not be accommodated, leading to temporary pauses in sales. Representatives for The Mall at Millenia have not yet announced a reopening date for the Swatch store, leaving customers in limbo.#swatch #audemars_piguet #the_mall_at_millenia #matthew_salano #cory_kehoe
