If you’ve been online in the last couple of weeks, you know there’s been a whole lot of talk about the AP x Swatch “Royal Pop” collab. The problem is most of it is coming from folks who have never even laid hands on one of the enormously sought-after pocket watches. To give you a real look at the lineup, we decided to source all eight styles, photograph them, and tell you all about what it’s like to rock a Royal Pop IRL. —Jonathan Evans, style director
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We got our mitts on the biggest (pocket) watch release of 2026 so far.
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In stores, all eight watches are displayed in glass cases, with design callbacks to Warhol’s infamous “Shot Sage Blue Marilyn” (1964). But enough of the preamble: Let’s get into the actual watches.
The level of craftsmanship is high, especially considering the price. The most iconic feature of AP’s legendary Royal Oak is undoubtedly its screw-down octagonal bezel. As with the Royal Pop’s case, this bezel is made of bioceramic (biodegradable plastic), a specialty of Swatch, all complete with brushed finish. The screws on the bezel are not merely decorative, created by embossing or painting; separate screw-shaped parts are properly glued on. The hexagonal edges and slotted notches also have sharp edges.
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Snakes. Why did it have to be snakes…? If you felt your skin crawling, your stomach turning, and your eyes looking away during the final moments of tonight’s Euphoria episode, you already have the answer to that question.
Sam Levinson, the creator behind TV’s most provocative show, says extreme discomfort was the point. Between having a finger and a toe cut off, being buried alive, and then thrashing inside his coffin with a venomous rattler, the demise of Jacob Elordi’s Nate Jacobs compounded phobia upon phobia. The outspoken fans/haters of Euphoria have long wanted the selfish, controlling, and abusive Nate to get what’s coming to him. Well … be careful what you wish for, people.
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I am not wise in the ways of international diplomacy, so I admit I am baffled by the strategy of celebrating a peace agreement by bombing the hell out of the other country.
Did you ever get the feeling that, as the late William Goldman once said about Hollywood, nobody knows anything? In this case, even the people who are supposed to know everything apparently do not know everything. There’s a peace deal. No, negotiations are ongoing but promising. Negotiations are ongoing. Negotiations are at a standstill. Bombs away!
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