Swatch Closes UK Stores as Huge Queues Form for £335 Limited Edition Watch Launch

Swiss watchmaker Swatch has shut all its outlets across the UK, citing “safety considerations for both our customers and our staff” after hundreds queued for a new limited edition watch. Branches in London, Birmingham, Cardiff, Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester, and Sheffield have remained closed.

Arrests and Public Order Concerns

In Cardiff, South Wales Police confirmed a 25-year-old man was arrested following reports of approximately 300 people attempting to enter the St. Davids shopping centre at 06:20 on Saturday. Merseyside Police also reported attending an incident in Liverpool One, where “a group of males were acting in an aggressive manner and making threats” outside the Paradise Street store around 07:00 BST.

The sought-after item is a Royal Pop pocket watch, a collaboration with luxury watchmaker Audemars Piguet. Eight models were set to launch, priced from £335. However, online resellers are already listing the watches for as much as £16,000.

International queues have also been reported, with watch enthusiasts camping for days in New York and the launch event at Dubai Mall in the United Arab Emirates cancelled due to overcrowding.

Swatch described the watches, inspired by 1950s and 60s Pop Art, as a “disruptive collaboration between two icons of Swiss watchmaking”.