Shoppers queue for hours to be first in line as Swatch ‘Ocean of Storms’ watch is released

Eager Edinburgh shoppers formed a massive queue outside a Princes Street store on Thursday, hoping to be one of the lucky ones to get their hands on a new limited edition watch.

From the early hours of the morning, watch lovers waited in line outside the Swatch store, with some customers spotted sitting on fold-away chairs as they waited for the shop to open its doors.

The new Blancpain x Swatch Scuba Fifty Fathoms Ocean of Storms is the latest release from Swatch, and Edinburgh is one of only two cities in the UK stocking the watch, alongside London. The £350 timepiece was on sale for one day only, meaning those wanting to own one had to be up early to join the queue.

It's not the first time the release of a new watch has sparked a frenzy among shoppers in Scotland’s capital city. In March 2022, hundreds of watch lovers formed a similar queue outside the same store when the original Moonswatch collaboration between Omega and Swatch went on sale.

That month, a central London watch store had to close amid chaotic scenes after large crowds turned up for the launch of the same watch. The Swatch shop in Carnaby Street had warned customers to get there early in expectation of large queues as its Bio-Ceramic Moonswatch collection went on sale. But the store ended up opening for barely half an hour after police officers were seen speaking to store staff as crowds tried to get inside.

And in July 2023, it was a case of time repeating itself as another huge crowd gathered outside the Edinburgh watch store, as they desperately tried to get their hands on the Mission to the Moon watch, a long-awaited collaboration between Omega and Swatch.

A description of the Ocean of Storms watch on the Swatch website reads: “This Blancpain X Swatch watch honors Blancpain’s Fifty Fathoms, the first true diver’s watch. Its black case and crown are made of Bioceramic material.

“The word 'Swatch’ is inscribed on the outer left side of the case. The dial has a black sunbrushed finish and features a date indicator between 4 and 5 o'clock. The hour indexes, hour, and minute hands, as well as the scale on the bezel, are enriched with Grade A Super-LumiNova for outstanding legibility in the dark. The one-direction rotating black Bioceramic bezel, and biosourced glass are treated with an anti-scratch coating.”