Swatch ships the Royal Pop with a lanyard. It's a fine way to wear a pocket watch — looped around your neck or clipped to a belt loop. But let's be honest: most people who bought the Royal Pop aren't pocket watch enthusiasts. They're watch enthusiasts who want a piece of the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak legacy at an accessible price.
Here's why a wrist strap conversion makes more sense than the stock lanyard for most buyers.
The Case for the Lanyard
Let's give the lanyard its due. The Royal Pop is a pocket watch. Swatch and AP designed it that way intentionally. Wearing it on a lanyard is the "authentic" experience. It's also a conversation starter — a pocket watch in 2026 turns heads.
The lanyard works well if you:
- Treat the Royal Pop as a fashion accessory, not a daily timepiece
- Like the novelty of a pocket watch
- Rarely need to check the time on your wrist
- Want to keep it in the original form factor
The Case for a Wrist Strap
But here's the thing: most people check their watch by glancing at their wrist, not fishing something out of their pocket. A wrist conversion makes the Royal Pop functional as a daily watch.
1. You Actually Wear It
Pocket watches end up in drawers. Wristwatches get worn every day. If you spent $400 on a Royal Pop, you probably want to wear it more than a few times. A wrist strap makes that happen naturally.
2. Better Protection
A watch on your wrist is safer than a watch swinging from a lanyard. On a lanyard, the Royal Pop can swing, bump into things, or catch on surfaces. On your wrist, it's secure and protected by the adapter frame.
3. The Royal Oak Connection
The whole point of the Royal Pop is its Royal Oak DNA — the octagonal case, the tapisserie dial, the AP aesthetic. The Royal Oak was designed as a wristwatch. Wearing the Royal Pop on your wrist completes the visual connection that Swatch and AP created.
4. Versatility
With a wrist adapter, you can switch between pocket watch and wristwatch modes in seconds. The watch head pops in and out of both shells. Buy a wrist adapter and you have both options — not just one.
The Verdict
The lanyard is the stock experience. The wrist strap is the upgrade. For most Royal Pop buyers, the wrist conversion is the difference between a novelty purchase and a daily-wear watch. At $45-$75 for an adapter and strap kit, it's a small investment to make a $400 watch significantly more wearable.