Luxury watches search for a different kind of green

AS WATCHMAKERS FROM AROUND THE WORLD GATHER in late March in Geneva for one of the industry's biggest events the Watches and Wonders fair-Switzerlandbased Oris will announce a luxury diver's watch with a swirly blue and green dial.

- ROBIN SWITHINBANK

There's nothing remarkable in that, except that the dial of the Oris X Bracenet (2,350 Swiss francs, or $2,508) is made of upcycled ghost fishing nets recovered from the ocean. Luxury watches have always been about communicating more than the time, and what this one gets across is its maker's sustainability program.

Oris became climate neutral in 2021 and frequently collaborates with conservation organizations. It stands out against others in the Swiss watch industry, which have been slow to respond to consumer appetite for products with a strong environmental profile.

The scale of the ambivalence was exposed five years ago when the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) published a report examining Swiss watchmaking's social and environmental impact, concluding that it "does not meet good environmental standards." Well-known names like Rolex, Omega, and Patek Philippe were classified as "latecomers" and "nontransparent," while only IWC received praise. (Oris wasn't included in the report.)