Swatch Closes UK Stores After Crowds Queue for Limited Edition Watch

The company closed its stores in London, Birmingham, Cardiff, Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester and Sheffield on Saturday after hundreds of people queued outside branches to purchase a new limited edition watch. The Swiss firm said it would not open its branches in the capital in light of safety considerations for both customers and staff.

Stores in the other listed cities will also remain closed. The company had been due to launch the "Royal Pop" pocket watch collaboration with luxury watchmaker Audemars Piguet, with eight models priced from £335. The watch has since been put on resale online for up to £16,000.

The company, better known for its colourful watches from the 1980s, described the items as a disruptive collaboration between two icons of Swiss watchmaking.

In the Liverpool One retail area, some shoppers had been camping for two days outside the store. Merseyside Police said they received a report that a group of males were acting in an aggressive manner and making threats outside the shop at about 07:00 BST on Saturday.

Officers attended and the crowd dispersed shortly afterwards, a force spokesperson added. Queues had also been building up outside the company's branches internationally, including in New York where watch enthusiasts had been camping for a week. Reports indicated some had become unwell during the wait.

The firm also cancelled its launch event at Dubai Mall in the United Arab Emirates following a large turnout. The company has said the new watches were inspired by the Pop Art movement of the 1950s and 60s. It called the collection a groundbreaking watch collection that combines joyful boldness and positive provocation with fine watchmaking.