Watch collaborations 2025–2026: the key releases and how to spot the one that will gain value

Watch collaborations multiplied in 2025 and 2026, with one thing in common: queues at launch, then resale prices that climb fast and often fall just as fast. For a buyer, the question is not whether a collaboration will get people talking, but whether it will hold its value once the event is over. Here are the key releases of the period, verified, and a framework for judging the next ones.

The key releases of 2025–2026

Retail prices are those announced by the brands and reported by the press; resale trends come from sales and listings recorded on platforms, and remain indicative.

Royal Pop: the most talked-about collaboration

On 16 May 2026, Swatch and Audemars Piguet launched the Royal Pop: eight bioceramic pocket watches borrowing the codes of the Royal Oak, powered by a manual-wind version of the Sistem51. There are two forms: the Lépine, crown at 12 o'clock, hours and minutes; the Savonnette, crown at 3 o'clock, with small seconds. Sales took place only in Swatch boutiques, one piece per person, per boutique and per day, with no online sales.

The secondary market followed what is now the classic pattern. In the hours after launch, some colours were listed at several times their retail price; one specialist outlet noted a drop of around 70% in a single day on the most sought-after colours, while another measured only a 6% decline over the first twenty-four hours. By mid-June, completed sales sat at around $700 for the most common Lépines and $1,400 to $1,600 for the two Savonnettes, according to a published survey. The white one was among the most sought after.

What the Royal Pop did not do is just as instructive: according to CNBC, drawing on WatchCharts data, prices of pre-owned Audemars Piguet watches stayed stable after the launch. The collaboration neither raised nor lowered the market value of real Royal Oaks. To place those, see our article on Royal Oak 15500 and 16202 market values.

MoonSwatch: from mass production to limited edition

After four years of variants, Swatch took a step further in July 2026 with the Mission to the Moon 1969: 1,969 numbered pieces, 500 Swiss francs, and 11 grams of Moonshine Gold for the dial, hands, crown and pushers. To buy one, you had to fill in an online questionnaire and be drawn by ballot. It is the first MoonSwatch with a stated and engraved production run, which brings it closer to a true limited edition.

Meanwhile, the brand continued its editions sold under special rules: the Earthphase Moonshine Gold series, tied to the year's moons, the last of which, Cold Moon, was only sold after its launch when it was snowing in Switzerland; and the Mission to the Sun "Solar Eclipse", sold only on 12 August 2026 and only in Spain. Our article on the prices and resale value of every MoonSwatch details each family.

Bulgari × Vianney Halter and watchmaker collaborations

At the other end of the spectrum, Bulgari presented an Octo Finissimo Dual Time designed with the independent watchmaker Vianney Halter at Geneva Watch Days in September 2026. This type of collaboration, between a house and a recognised independent, produces short runs and an audience of demanding collectors. It is the model that has historically held its value best, provided the quantity delivered stays modest. We will have to wait for the first resales to check.

Five criteria for spotting a collaboration that will gain value

No rule guarantees a gain. But the collaborations that have held their value over time almost always share the following characteristics.

1. A stated, verifiable run. "Special edition" without a number means continuous production. A run of a few hundred pieces, engraved on the watch, is an argument; a run of several thousand hardly is. Be wary too of editions whose scarcity comes from a sales rule (one day, one country): they create a spike, rarely lasting value.
2. A parent brand whose watches already resell well. A collaboration does not create value retention where there is none. If the standard version depreciates, the special edition will too, logo or not.
3. A signed dial. The double signature of a retailer or historic partner on the dial is one of the most durable markers in the market, as the Tiffany Nautilus showed. Our article on Patek Philippe × Tiffany explains why.
4. A watch that is interesting in its own right. A quality movement, a technical feat, a design that stands up without the partner's name: that is what remains when the hype subsides.
5. The complete full set. Specific box, certificate, edition accessories: an incomplete full set weighs more heavily on a collaboration than on an ordinary watch, because the packaging is part of the object's story.

Buy at launch or wait?

The 2025 and 2026 releases confirm a constant: the resale premium peaks in the first hours, then shrinks. Buying pre-owned on launch day almost always means paying the highest price in the watch's life. If you did not get a piece in a boutique, waiting a few weeks is generally more sensible. Conversely, if you got it at retail and plan to resell it, the most favourable window is often short.

Finally, bear in mind that the premium over retail shown in listings is not a gain: platform fees, insured shipping and, depending on your country (in France, above €5,000), tax on the sale reduce the real gap.

Practical information

• Swatch, current collaborations and sales rules: swatch.com
• Audemars Piguet: audemarspiguet.com
• Before buying a pre-owned collaboration: compare completed sales from the last thirty days, not listings, and insist on the receipt from the original boutique.

In short

The 2025–2026 collaborations mostly produced short-lived resale spikes. Those with a chance of gaining value combine a stated run, a solid parent brand, an interesting watch and a complete full set. If you own a watch from a collaboration, or the prestige watch that inspired it, calculate its market value to get a range based on our price surveys.