Earth Hour

Faced with criticism and a new generation of green-minded consumers, more fine watchmakers are pulling out all the stops to make their products and processes more eco-friendly.

- Sherwin Chua

If you were the owner of the one-off Moser Nature Watch, you would not just have to regularly wind it – you would have to water it as well. Created by independent brand H Moser, the not-for-sale timepiece features a steel case luxuriantly surrounded by living plants harvested from the nursery in its Schaffhausen manufacture, as well as a dial covered with mineral stone and lichen from the Swiss Alps.

Unsurprisingly, it was one of the talking points at the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie in Geneva earlier this year. While the cheeky statement piece was intended to highlight the Swiss horologer’s commitment to environmental consciousness, it also drew attention to the unlikely pairing between haute horlogerie and ecological sustainability – one that might almost be as unexpected as wearing Swiss succulents and cress on your wrist.

Conceptually, luxury watchmaking and sustainability appear to be mismatched bedfellows, at least on the surface. With a reputation for celebrating indulgence and excess, the horology industry’s efforts in social and environmental sustainability have been sometimes regarded as nothing more than hollow marketing and lip-service “storytelling”.

To exacerbate matters, the watchmaking industry’s credibility in the area of ecological conscientiousness further withered when the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) released a report last year criticising the detrimental impact of the watch- and jewellery making on nature, citing a lack of transparency and commitment in dealing with sustainability issues and tackling climate change.