Results for Grail Watch

Inside The Manufacture: A Behind-The-Scenes Look At The Swatch x Audemars Piguet Royal Pop

Last year I took a trip to Swatch's Sistem51 factory, and many people seemed to enjoy getting a glimpse of the other side of watchmaking that we typically don't glamorize. Industrialization, in a way very opposite from classic watchmaking, is a different kind of technical art entirely. It's diametrically opposed to the philosophies of construction and finishing that you would expect from a classic watchmaker or brand, but as a result, that visit was one of the most interesting manufacturing sites that I've ever seen. I had no idea that I'd be back so soon, but then again, I certainly would have no idea that a collaboration between Swatch and Audemars Piguet would be around the corner. So a little more than a year later, I found myself back in Biel, Switzerland, right outside of Swatch headquarters, making my way back to the Swatch Museum (still some of the most fun you can spend in a watch museum), the Swatch Drive-Through shop right outside of Swatch headquarters, and finally making the drive back out into the Swiss countryside to go see some Swatch factory sites. Of course, this time, it was in the hopes of seeing how things might have changed with the addition of the Royal Pop as a product on the factory lines. This trip wasn't all just déjà vu, however. In my visit last year to the ETA Sistem51 site in Boncourt, it just so happened that the ETA site in Grenchen, responsible for the production of Swatch's Bioceramic composite, was under renovation. They were in the mi...

First Look - Chopard Revives its Classic Regulator with the New L.U.C 1963 Heritage Regulator

In the mid-1990s, Karl-Friedrich Scheufele embarked on an ambitious project to elevate Chopard’s watchmaking credentials by establishing an independent manufacturing facility in Fleurier – and succeeded. Following the development of the acclaimed ultra-thin automatic calibre 96.01-L, the manufacture released its first watch in 1997. Bearing the initials of founder Louis-Ulysse Chopard,  the L.U.C 1860 launched […]

Hands-On With The Girard-Perregaux Neo Constant Escapement - Could We Catch The Purple “Butterfly” Inside?

Why use a traditional, coiled balance spring when you can use a 14-micron-wide and 120-micron-“thick” silicon blade instead? With the latter, Girard-Perregaux set out to overcome the inherent challenge of fluctuating power delivery in mechanical watches. The goal for the 235-year-old Swiss watchmaker from La Chaux-de-Fonds was to achieve consistently superior precision. The quest involves […] Visit Hands-On With The Girard-Perregaux Neo Constant Escapement — Could We Catch The Purple “Butterfly” Inside? to read the full article.

Rare Finds & Hidden Grails: Inside Ponti Collection

Industry News - Swatch Group Reports Sales Up 8.5% in its Half-Year Report 2026

Following two difficult consecutive years, with sales down 12% in 2024 and 7% in 2025, the Swatch Group, the Swiss watchmaking giant owner of brands such as Omega, Breguet, Longines, and Tissot, is now back to growth. Indeed, as indicated by its half-year 2026 report, Swatch Group recorded “a strong increase in sales, up +8.5% […]

Catch The Four Bravur Team Heritage Watches In The Breakaway

The breakaway is five minutes ahead of the peloton. It’s a strong group, and you’d better do your best to catch the four Bravur Team Heritage watches that are in the lead. They look strong and stylish in their historical team kit colors of St. Raphaël, Peugeot, Renault, and Mercier. Forget about the ultra-aero Lycra […] Visit Catch The Four Bravur Team Heritage Watches In The Breakaway to read the full article.

Swatch’s MoonSwatch ESTA could change hype watch launches forever

Just when we thought the MoonSwatch hype had been well and truly usurped by the recent AP x Swatch collaboration, Swiss giants Omega and Swatch went and broke the internet again last week, announcing their latest collaboration piece: the MoonSwatch Mission to the Moon 1969. Limited to just 1,969 pieces, the bioceramic special edition receives … Continued

Swatch x Omega Launch Mission To The Moon 1969 MoonSwatch

The latest Swatch x Omega MoonSwatch Mission To The Moon 1969 goes high end with 11g of gold and an application process.

Introducing: The Swatch Mission To The Moon 1969 Moonswatch

What We Know It's kind of funny saying this, but it's been a bit of time since we've seen a new Moonswatch. Given the news cycle around this year's Swatch x Audemars Piguet launch, it makes a lot of sense that Swatch has held more Moonswatch releases in its back pocket, ready for when the time is right to get people talking again about its most popular high/low collab. Today's new Mission To The Moon 1969 Moonswatch is the most limited of the Moonswatches, with only 1,969 pieces made in total. It's certainly a special execution, with an homage to Apollo 11's Moon landing in—you guessed it—1969. But unlike an actual Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch, where the story is a huge part of the appeal to the collector, I have a feeling that this Moonswatch's appeal lies in its use of Omega's 18K Moonshine Gold. It's certainly not the first time Swatch has used Omega's gold alloy in Moonswatches, but this one has a lot of that gold. With the dial, hands, pushers, and crown all in Moonshine Gold, there are eleven grams total in each of these watches. Interestingly, Swatch is saying that the gold used for this edition is melted down from spare Omega parts from that era, which then ties the connection with Omega much closer together. This edition pairs a matte black Bioceramic case with all those bits of gold and black accents to complete the look. The Moonshine Gold dial is given a vertically brushed finish. No lume to be found on these hands, as the gold beveled applied indices are fi...

Swatch x Omega just democratically dropped the most precious MoonSwatch they have ever made

Celebrating the Apollo 11 Moon landing, the MoonSwatch Mission to the Moon 1969 is limited to just 1,969 individually numbered pieces.

We Have A Lift Off! Meet The New Swatch MoonSwatch Mission To The Moon 1969

Swatch did it again! A new Swatch x Omega MoonSwatch was launched at the same time (09:32 AM EDT / 15:32 CEST) as the Saturn V rocket from the Apollo 11 mission in 1969. Swatch has a good feel for historical relevance and released yet another cool MoonSwatch variation. Mission To The Moon 1969 The […] Visit We Have A Lift Off! Meet The New Swatch MoonSwatch Mission To The Moon 1969 to read the full article.

Introducing - The 2026 Chopard Mille Miglia GTS Power Control Grigio-Blu Racing Edition

As the official sponsor and timekeeper of the historic Mille Miglia since 1988, Chopard enjoys one of the longest-running partnerships between a watch brand and a car event. The brand’s Mille Miglia collection is the watchmaking extension of co-president Karl-Friedrich Scheufele’s lifelong passion for the classic Italian road race. With the 44th edition taking place […]

Hands-On: Five Things You'll Want To Know Before You Buy The Swatch x Audemars Piguet Royal Pop - And How To Get It

Earlier in the week, I got a chance to see the new Swatch x Audemars Piguet Royal Pop collaboration in person, the hottest (and most hotly debated) thing since, well, Swatch did their first collaboration with Omega. There were some restrictions, like the fact that I couldn't handle some of them without gloves, but I did get enough of an impression to have a lot of thoughts. Yes, I think they're a lot of fun, and actually pretty impressive in some ways. I get that a lot of people will disagree, and that's fine. But to answer the last part of our headline first: you can get the Swatch x AP Royal Pop watches only at select retail stores starting May 16. You can find those stores on the Swatch website by going to the homepage, looking for the collab, and clicking the "See Stores" link. One version (with a crown at the right) is $420, while the other (with a crown at the top) is $400. Also, this is not an AP-led product, so don't call your local AP AD hoping to get one. Swatch is in charge here. Love it or hate it, the Swatch x Audemars Piguet Royal Pop is big news. How big? A few hundred comments on our site is a good measure. But how about the fact that, in 24 hours, our "Introducing" story on the collab got about 20x an average story would do in a month and 1.75x more page views than the Rolex "Pepsi" GMT cancellation (which was the highest-traffic story of Watches & Wonders to date). We love watches over here, but it can be a bubble. There are a few rare moments when the wa...

The AP X Swatch Royal Pop: The Royal Oak Gets Swatch-ified With Eight New Pocket Watches

The duo plays to their strengths with a fleet of Bioceramic pocket watches packed with a new movement and endless styling possibilities. More

Thomas’s Watches And Wonders 2026 Favorites: Conservative Classics Catch My Gaze

As Fratello writers, my colleagues and I always have this article in the back of our minds as we work our way through the Watches and Wonders peak workload. We all know that sooner rather than later, Head of Content Nacho will schedule a Watches and Wonders 2026 favorites article for each of us, so […] Visit Thomas’s Watches And Wonders 2026 Favorites: Conservative Classics Catch My Gaze to read the full article.

Swatch Drops Four Jellyfish-Themed Affordable Dive Watches at $155

The Swatch Scubaqua returns with four new affordable dive watches at $155, including two with built-in Swatch Pay at no added cost.

Rolex at Watches and Wonders 2026: Daytona Enamel, Jubilee Gold Day-Date , Centenary Oyster Perpetual, and the Return of Yatch-Master II

First Look - The 2026 Collection of Montblanc Watches, from Rieussec and Iced Sea to 1858 and Star Legacy

When a brand drops a set of updates like this, it is rarely about just one watch. With Montblanc’s start to 2026, the focus is more on variety. The Rieussec brings in a historical link, while pieces like the Iced Sea focus more on materials and colour, including a brighter coral dial. There are also […]

AI Designed My Custom Swatch Watch

Announced last year, Swatch’s AI-DADA platform is now live, enabling customers to design and build their own custom Swatch with a design that will never be repeated. With a low entry price and quick turnaround, I took the platform for a spin. Why AI Swatch has been a design-oriented brand since its debut in 1983. Not only has Swatch produced a dizzying array of original designs of its own, over the years the brand has collaborated with celebrated artists and leading institutions to democratise access to wearable art. About a decade ago, Swatch’s world-class logistics infrastructure enabled it to offer customised watches via an online configurator that enabled customers to mix and match different elements from a pre-selected range of options. That was quickly followed by the ability to generate a custom-printed design, by dragging a Swatch template over a selection of human-created patterns and designs. The AI-DADA system, launched earlier this year, builds on this basis in way that only Swatch could pull off. The system leverages an undisclosed large language model (LLM) to generate a custom design based on a user’s 300-character prompt. The result is a made-to-order Swatch of the customer’s own design, delivered in as few as five days. What’s more, the cost is little more than an off-the-shelf model, at just US$195. With little to lose, I took the plunge. AI-DADA Swatch watches are powered by standard quartz movements in the typical New Gent case size. Three str...

Marco Lang’s Seven Spheres Tourbillon is Futuristic Classicism

Independent watchmaker Marco Lang has just unveiled the Seven Spheres, a wristwatch containing a multi-axis central tourbillon. Diversifying away from his conservative style, the Dresden-based watchmaker presents an ambitious and dynamic mechanical sculpture that tells time. Inspired by the ideas of both Ptolemy and Carl Sagan, Mr Lang has achieved a rare feat with the Seven Spheres, building a watch that is both technically imaginative and artistically crafted. Initial thoughts We are seldom treated to multi-axis tourbillons, so Marco Lang’s entry to this niche and ambitious category is most welcome. The Seven Spheres is the his first tourbillon since leaving Lang & Heyne in 2019, and demonstrates the full breadth of his technical skill. The theme of seven spheres was inspired by the geocentric universe model theorised by Ptolemy in the first century. The astronomer’s theory was built around having the Earth as the centre of the universe, orbited by seven planets. Inspired by this obsolete theory, Mr Lang created the Seven Spheres, which places the regulating organ inside seven turning rings, which comprise the complex multi-axis tourbillon cage. The movement with its central multi-axis tourbillon vaguely resembles Vianney Halter’s Deep Space Tourbillon. However, the Seven Sphere’s architecture is even more interesting than that of the Deep Space, since the central tourbillon appears to be suspended in mid air.  The Seven Spheres is one of the most complex multi-...

Swatch Group Responds to Morgan Stanley Report in Open Letter

Business News: Swatch Group Publishes Open Letter To Morgan Stanley Management Saying Longines Is Profitable And Tissot Sales Grew

Swatch takes aim at the numbers and methods of the widely read Morgan Stanley 'Swiss Watcher' industry report.

Masterpieces of Modernism: Swatch Debuts Guggenheim Collaboration

Having previously collaborated with almost every major art museum in the world, from MoMA to the Louvre, Swatch has licensed four masterpieces of 20th-century art from the Guggenheim, including works on display in New York and Venice. Accessibly priced, non-limited and available online, the Swatch x Guggenheim collection brings works from Monet, Degas, Klee, and Pollock to a wrist near you. Initial thoughts Painted dials have a long history in watchmaking, but the difficult nature of the work meant that for most of history they remained out of reach for all but the wealthiest clientele. While hand-painted dials are vanishingly rare and breathtakingly expensive, modern production methods mean that legendary masterpieces can now be easily scaled down and mass produced. Swatch was a pioneer in this regard, introducing its first artist collaboration with Kiki Picasso in 1985, just two years after the company launched its revolutionary plastic watch. The Picasso collaboration was the first of many, and since then there’s hardly a major art museum that hasn’t licensed selected works to Swatch. The works selected for this collaboration come from two different Guggenheim collections. Three of them are famously on display at the Guggenheim New York, while the fourth may be seen at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice. The odd-looking double-length seconds hand is an homage to this transatlantic duality. The Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice. Functionally, the four quar...

First Look - Hublot Big Bang Original Unico Collection

Although the Big Bang theory is a widely accepted explanation for the universe’s origin, the Big Bang that exploded on the watch scene in 2005 could not have detonated without two factors: the bravado and marketing genius of CEO Jean-Claude Biver and former CEO Carlo Crocco’s original spirit of fusion on board the 1980 Classic […]

Introducing - Hublot Classic Fusion Yohji Yamamoto All Black Camo

While Hublot’s Classic Fusion model might look tame in comparison to the brand’s muscular Big Bang quarterbacks, in 1980 it sent shockwaves through the industry. With its unorthodox combination of a gold 37mm porthole-shaped case with exposed screws in the bezel paired with a black rubber strap, Carlo Crocco’s Hublot (French for porthole) watch was […]

New release alert: Swatch Year of the Horse

Swatch releases a special edition to celebrate the Year of the Horse with a special art piece in collaboration with Chinese artist Yu Wenjie.

Dispatch: Inside The Swatch Sistem51 Factory

How exactly does one fully automate the making of a mechanical movement?

Swatch’s New ‘Cold Moon’ MoonSwatch Only Sells in Swiss Snow

Introducing the MoonSwatch Mission to Earthphase Moonshine Gold “Cold Moon,” a winter release with a limited snowfall-based availability.

The New Swatch Holiday Collection Finds the Sweet Spot Between Fun and Refined

The new Swatch Holiday Collection mixes polished chronographs and SISTEM51 automatics in a balanced, easy-to-wear lineup.

Hands-On: Swatch 'What If…Tariffs?' A Bioceramic Take On A Watch You Can Only Buy In Switzerland

Swatch mixes up a few key elements with its What If? model to note its displeasure with the financial burden faced by Swiss watchmakers exporting to the key U.S. market.