IN-DEPTH: What’s with all the pocket watches?

Steampunks and people who love to cosplay Peaky Blinders. 

Until very recently, that’s what mainly sprung to mind when thinking about pocket watches. Of course, they’ve always had a part to play in haute horology. But, realistically, pocket watches haven’t been a mainstream choice since 1904, when Louis Cartier was tasked with making a wristwatch for aeronaut Alberto Santos-Dumont. But that was then. And now I have a suspicion they’re about to become trendy again. The watch industry certainly seems to think so.

The major news is, of course, Audemars Piguet’s new collaboration with Swatch, which sees the Swiss watchmaker’s famous Royal Oak design given an Eighties twist, inspired by the Swatch Pop watches of the era. There’s eight vibrant, Bioceramic colourways to choose from. The partnership, in all its headline-grabbing, bubblegum-coloured glory, might be what brings the pocket watch into the mainstream, but the signs of its growing popularity have been there for a while. 

Last year, Christopher Ward and Studio Underd0g collaborated on The Alliance 02, notably described as “a pocket watch you can wear with sneakers.” It sold out in minutes. Parmigiani Fleurier, meanwhile, made a stunning one-off minute repeater pocket watch called La Ravenale for the 75th birthday of its founder Michel Parmigiani. With its hand-engraved, 1920s-inspired case and stone marquetry dial, it’s at once modern and timeless.

Earlier in 2026, Swiss independent watchmaker Aerowatch launched the Tornado, a pocket watch with a skeletonised case in stainless steel that offers a modern industrial aesthetic.

At Watches & Wonders 2026, meanwhile, there were more launches. Hermès unveiled the Slim d’Hermès Pocket Roaaaaar!, a limited edition white-gold pocket watch featuring a roaring lion originally designed by artist Alice Shirley, and realised in wood marquetry with a cord strap.

Patek Philippe also launched a new pocket watch-inspired desk clock to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Nautilus. While, with a 50.65 mm diameter, you probably wouldn’t carry around in your pocket, it very much still looked the part.

What is significant about all these launches is that the pocket watches being released feel resolutely modern, and are being marketed as such. CEO of Audemars Piguet, Ilaria Resta, was clear about the goal of the Swatch collaboration in a post to her LinkedIn: “At its heart, this project has a single purpose: perpetuating the love for mechanical watchmaking. To love something, you must first encounter it. To desire it, you must first understand it.”

In short, the Royal Pop, priced between £335–350, is intended to entice the younger generations into the world of mechanical watchmaking. It’s funny to think that, to achieve this goal, Audemars Piguet chose to run with a pocket watch of all things. But, given the popularity of bag charms, customisation, and jewellery ‘stacks’ — piles of necklaces or bracelets, highly curated and personalised — with younger customers, the decision makes more sense. The Swatch Pop can be worn on a chain, as a necklace, clipped to clothing or bags, or displayed like a desk clock. Above all, it’s tapping into the trend for individualism and self-expression that Gen Z and Gen Alpha can’t get enough of.

“What makes the Swatch x Audemars Piguet collaboration particularly compelling is its cultural positioning as much as its accessibility,” says Beth Hannaway, director of buying of Harrods’s Fine Jewellery & Watches department. “By reimagining the product as a pocket watch, it moves beyond traditional watchmaking codes into the realm of collectible accessory; something to be styled, displayed, and worn in a more personal, expressive way.”

Many of the other pocket watches that have been recently launched are also designed to be worn in multiple different ways. The Christopher Ward x Studio Underd0g pocket watch came with a braided leather strap and a desk stand, while the Hublot x Daniel Amersham piece can be worn as a pendant or displayed on its own. Perhaps it’s best not to think of these new timepieces as ‘pocket’ watches at all, but rather as offering an all-new way to wear your mechanical watch. 

Necklace watches, bangle watches, and even ring watches are all growing in popularity too, showing that there’s a market out there of younger and more eclectic consumers, who want to wear a watch — just maybe not on their wrist.