Immediately after its release, resellers flooded online marketplaces, offering the pieces at as much as five times their retail price. Even Omega spokesperson and James Bond actor Daniel Craig wore a deep navy Neptune version.

Watch enthusiast, co-founder and CEO of pre-owned watch platform Wristcheck, Austen Chu, is also a fan: “The Swatch and Omega crossover was probably one of the coolest things to happen in the watch industry. The most important thing is to bring in as many people as possible into the world of horology, and this was the perfect entry point.”

This year, Swatch Group followed that successful collaboration with a crossover with another sister brand, Blancpain, bringing the same colourful execution to its Fifty Fathoms divers’ watch.

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The conglomerate, with its vertically integrated watchmaking capabilities and huge number of brands, is well positioned to pursue such collaborations, driving attention to its premium marques without tarnishing their reputation.

“It exponentially boosted awareness of the iconic luxury sports models – the Speedmaster and Fifty Fathoms – and their history, to the general public on a global level,” says Gertrude Wong, watch specialist at auctioneers Phillips, “and I mean literally from the age of six to 60, if you ask them if they know what a MoonSwatch is now, they could probably tell you.”

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For two watch brands to come together to create a timepiece is a more recent phenomenon and most luxury brands are unlikely to be able to compete at Swatch’s price point. Instead of aiming to push more product, collaborations such as that between Patek Philippe and Tiffany & Co. to produce a blue-dialled Nautilus 5711/1A-018, could be seen as an extension of brand building.

“That model definitely grabbed attention outside of the watch world. Whether it is popular culture following the success of the Tiffany and Supreme collab, or jewellery-focused clientele, the attention certainly peaked with headlines on the auction result overnight,” says Wong, referring to the jeweller’s earlier work with the streetwear brand.

According to Patek Philippe president Thierry Stern, the motivation for the collaboration was to mark the friendly 170-year partnership between the two names. “This was my little gift to say congratulations on buying Tiffany,” Stern told CNBC in an interview, referencing the US$15.8 billion sale of Tiffany & Co. to French luxury conglomerate LVMH.

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The watch has all the trimmings: a Tiffany Blue dial, the Tiffany & Co. and Patek logos at 6 and 12 o’clock, respectively, and a caseback with the anniversary inscription. It was also the final chapter of the Nautilus Ref. 5711 before it was discontinued.

At as much as US$6.5 million a piece and with only 170 pieces available, it’s not something for the masses. Nonetheless, the collaboration created unprecedented hype for both brands. Buzz around who got their hands on the first pieces and photos of celebrities like LeBron James and Leonardo DiCaprio wearing the watch took over social media.

Those previously unfamiliar with Tiffany & Co. could be nudged to explore it’s more budget-friendly items, such as its silver jewellery or stainless steel quartz watches.

There are likely to be more collaborations to come. They generate excitement in the luxury consumer space and the potential synergy between brands not in the same price range or category – such as that between Gucci and The North Face or Hermès and Apple – proves that when done right, a collaboration can broaden the appeal of both parties.

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Chu cautions that too many collaboration collections could lead to fatigue: “As we can observe in the fashion world – whether it’s sneakers or anything else – collaborations don’t hold the same significance as they did five years ago.”

Still, both Chu and Wong believe that with watches at least, there’s plenty of room to grow for the foreseeable future.

“We see that Akrivia has just announced the latest Louis Vuitton collaboration. Being the first of five independent watchmaker projects in the pipeline, it will be an exciting way to raise the awareness of the mass market to independent watchmaking,” says Wong.

Chu agrees that independent brands are well positioned to drive this trend. “The most successful collaborations are when independent brands collaborate with each other,” he adds. “They bring their respective brand DNA and create new DNA out of that. Instead of just sticking a brand’s logo on a watch and calling it a day, they create something unique.”