Oris Releases New Eco-Friendly Aquis at Geneva Watch Days
By Sarah Jayne Potter | 3 minute read
Luxury watch brand Oris has put sustainability and eco-friendly at the heart of it’s business for many years, and are pushing boundaries on how we can focus our energies and time on protecting the world’s oceans, addressing climate change and much more. From conservation of coral reefs, to targeting the world’s plastic problem for marine life and the aquatic environment, there are many charities and movements that the brand are involved in.
One such watch to highlight key environmental issues was the Clean Ocean Limited Edition created in partnership with Everwave \(formerly Pacific Garbage Screening\) to promote the development of an innovative floating platform designed to prevent plastic waste reaching the ocean.
This year, through watch fair Geneva Watch Days, Oris are introducing the Aquis Date Upcycle, a version of their high-performance diver’s watch with a dial made of recycled PET plastic. Due to this way of manufacturing, it means that no two dials are alike, making each piece unique and extra special. As well as to show how plastic can be recycled and then upcycled to become a piece of luxury watchmaking art, the vision behind the watch is to encourage people all over the world to take part in clean-up days.
Oris, together with its global network of partners and suppliers, has been organising clean-up days for World Cleanup Day for a number of years. Collecting trash, like reducing what we throw away, is a collective responsibility and it’s only through education and the efforts of many that we’ll keep our oceans clean for future generations.
We spoke to our Junior Buyer, Sophie Conroy, all about the new timepiece from the brand.
In your own words, tell us about the Oris Upcycle and the history of the piece?
I am very excited about the new piece that sits within the Aquis sub family- the Aquis Date Upcycled. This new release encompasses the Oris global message ‘Change for the better’ and creates an awareness of our carbon footprint, the benefits of recycling and the small changes we can make to protect the planet.
We continue to hear of troubling statistics regarding plastic waste that are hard to ignore, including the vast amount of plastics that leak into our oceans with only a tiny percentage of these being recycled. Following on from the success of the Clean Ocean Limited Edition, the eye catching Upcycled continues to exude a message of sustainability and showcases how recycling can be utilised in producing luxury timepieces.
What makes this piece so special in your opinion?
The dial of the Upcycled model is created from recycled PET plastic and the process used to create the dials results in unique patterns on each timepiece. This in turn makes every dial one of a kind giving the wearer not only a unique piece, but also giving the wearer an opportunity to be part of the Oris global message. So for me, I think this makes the piece doubly special and will delight those who love unique timepieces for their collection, as well as those who are environmentally conscious.
Who do you think this timepiece will appeal to?
The Aquis Date Upcycled includes a Super-LumiNova® dial, uni-directional rotating bezel, 30bar, a folding clasp extension and a 38-hour power reserve enabling high performance underwater for any diver or those who enjoy being in the water. Alternatively, it’s a great, unique looking watch to wear on land… and a great conversation starter!
In terms of sustainability in the watch industry, do you see this as something that a lot of watch brands will adapt? What makes this so important to the industry?
In recent years the industry has started to produce more timepieces with sustainable or recycled materials, whether that’s re-using automotive materials in straps, the use of plant-based leathers or recycled packaging. These exciting new materials have a story to tell and allow the industry to continue to use luxury materials in a more sustainable way. And all these small changes enable the industry to take exciting steps in sustainability.
