The Swiss watchmaker Swatch has been forced to shut several of its stores around the world as a frenzy spreads over its new pocket watch collection made in collaboration with luxury timepiece brand, Audemars Piguet.
Pop watch mania seems to be showing little sign of slowing down despite calls from Swatch for people to stay away from its stores.
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It follows the launch of its new 'Royal Pop', a pocket watch made in collaboration with Swiss luxury brand Audemars Piguet, whose entry-level products retail for around €20,000.
Since its official launch on Saturday, tens of thousands of people around the world have been lining up in the hope of buying a model that sells for reasonable affordable €385.
Already, some models have been resold online for up to €16,000.
Since Friday, massive lines of people have been snaking around the mass-market Swatch shops in several cities including Geneva, New York, London, Paris, Lyon and Milan.
In some cases, watch fans starting camping outside Swatch stores up to a week before Saturday's release.
But, as is often the case when "limited edition" novelty items are made available, demand far outweighed supply and chaos ensued in a number of locations.
In Paris, police fired tear gas in a bid to restore calm at one store. There were scenes of violence in Milan where a fight erupted at opening time, according to local media.
Stores were also overwhelmed with potential customers in the Netherlands and across a number of cities in Britain forcing Swatch to shut up their shops.
The Swiss watchmaker has since issued an appeal for calm and urged its customers "not to rush to our stores in large numbers to acquire this product," adding that it was not a limited edition collection.
