Loved the Audemars Piguet x Swatch collection? Here are the coolest graphic-coded watches

Ever since the AP x Swatch crossover has been announced, the enthusiasts have gone berserk. Audemars Piguet, the fiercely independent Swiss maison behind the iconic Royal Oak, has teamed up with Swatch, the colourful disruptor that helped save the Swiss watch industry in the quartz era. The capsule collection titled ‘Royal Pop’ is a series of eight Bioceramic pocket watches that fuse AP’s octagonal bezel and tapisserie dial with Swatch’s irreverent POP spirit from the 1980s. 

If Omega x Swatch’s MoonSwatch was the collab that made serious watch collecting mainstream, AP x Swatch takes the idea further. It turns one of the most coveted names in watchmaking (that’s long embraced by athletes, rappers and collectors) into a pop-cultural object with a far more approachable price point.

If you liked the GenZ-coded collaboration, here are some of the coolest graphic watches that double as wearable art and worth adding to your mood board. 

Hublot Big Bang Pop Art

Long before colourful watches became a social media obsession, Hublot turned the Big Bang Pop Art into a wearable tribute to the world of Andy Warhol. Launched in 2014, the collection translated the bold visual language of Pop Art into four gem-set 41 mm chronographs in electric shades of blue, purple, pink and apple green. From contrasting dials and brightly coloured alligator-and-rubber straps to bezels set with topaz, amethyst, pink sapphire and tsavorite, it was on every art-enthusiasts’ wishlist. Limited to just 200 pieces per colourway, the Big Bang Pop Art felt like wearing miniature canvases on the wrist.

Richard Mille RM 88 Smiley

Unveiled in 2022 to mark over 50 years of the iconic Smiley symbol created by Franklin Loufrani, the watch transforms a universal emblem of positivity into a million-franc mechanical artwork. Limited to just 50 pieces, the RM 88 took more than three years to develop and features a skeletonised in-house CRMT7 automatic tourbillon movement surrounded by miniature hand-crafted gold sculptures including a flamingo, cactus, rainbow, pineapple and cocktail glass. Housed in white ATZ ceramic and 18K red gold, it captures everything Richard Mille is known for.

Jacob & Co. Astronomia Solar Zodiac

Created by Jacob & Co., this timepiece transforms the solar system into a mechanical spectacle under a sapphire crystal dome. At its centre sits a 288-facet citrine representing the sun, surrounded by rotating gemstone planets, a hand-painted Earth, and a double-axis flying tourbillon, all orbiting over a glittering aventurine dial engraved with the 12 zodiac signs. Powered by the hand-wound JCAM19 calibre with 439 components, the entire platform completes a revolution every 10 minutes, turning the watch into a moving celestial sculpture. The watch brings together high watchmaking, gem-setting and cosmic storytelling in the best possible way.

Breguet Experimentale No. 1

With the Breguet Classique Souscription 2025, Breguet quietly introduced the Expérimentale No. 1., a dedicated research prototype that reimagines Abraham-Louis Breguet’s original souscription pocket watch using horological engineering. Created as a laboratory piece rather than a commercial release, Expérimentale No. 1 explores how Breguet’s 18th-century ideas can be translated into the 21st century. It incorporates a movement architecture inspired by the original 1790s design, while integrating advanced alloys, modern escapement technology and precision-focused construction techniques developed within the brand’s research department.

Cronus Art CM001-10B “Play for Fun 

Cronus Art CM001-10B Play for Fun looks like a childhood arcade game translated into haute horlogerie. The timepiece draws on the nostalgia of retro gaming and street-art graffiti, with a vividly illustrated dial housed inside a transparent sapphire case. Powered by a Swiss automatic SW200 movement with a 42-hour power reserve, the 42 mm x 50 mm watch pairs serious mechanics with a playful, almost cartoonish aesthetic. Priced at around $3,500, Play for Fun is proof that contemporary watchmaking doesn’t always have to be austere.

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