Watch and Learn

Sustainability in the watch industry is manifest in multiple strands. It’s a fact that its most coveted brands, the likes of Richard Mille and Patek Philippe, produce limited quantities that will likely last a lifetime (as their well-known advertising copy outlines, ‘You never actually own a Patek Philippe, you merely look after it for the next generation’) and are therefore the very antithesis of disposable consumption.

Both brands are also popular on the global second-hand watch market, which, though it has dipped from its peak of 2021 alongside other asset classes, is currently worth nearly US$21.7 billion, according to Deloitte. It’s a market that includes sales at traditional auction houses, but also one fuelled by a younger generation who want luxury goods and are also sustainability-minded in their purchasingshabits.

These same buyers are the reason why some other brands have turned to using next-generation materials in their timepieces. Panerai were one of the first to do so, nailing their colours to the mast of sustainability with 2021’s reveal of the Submersible eLAB-ID™, a concept watch that at the time contained the highest percentage of recycledbased material ever assembled for a timepiece – a total of 98.6% of its weight, with materials drawn from industries including aerospace and automobiles. It then introduced eSteel™ to its wider production cycle, a metal derived from recycled steel scraps, preferably those from the Swiss watchmaking industry. It debuted on a trio of Luminor Marina pieces, each with a rubberized crown and a recycled PET strap. And more recently was used for the Submersible collection of diving watches. By 2025, Panerai estimates that 30% of its output will be designed and produced using recycled materials.

U lysee Nardin is another brand making use of recycled materials. Limited to 29 individually numbered pieces, its latest Diver Norrona Arctic Night timepiece not only features Carbonium®, a high-performance composite material, of which 95% is eco-sourced from carbon by-products, but also recycled fishing nets.

Then there is circular economy devotee ID Genève, winner of 2021’s The Luxury Innovation Award. It was launched the previous year by a trio comprising a watchmaker, designer, and entrepreneur, who wished to change things by eradicating the need to further extract raw material. To that end, ID Genève is the first brand in the watch industry to manufacture pieces from 100% recycled steel using a solar furnace. This waste steel all comes from the Jura region, further, and significantly, reducing its carbon footprint.

ID Genève uses only fully refurbished certified movements, with oscillating rotors recovered and skeletonized to remove their former markings. What’s more, its straps are produced from 100% green waste, such as vegetable compost, and its homecompostable packaging is formed from either seaweed or mushrooms. This being a Swiss-made watch, reliability is also a key factor. When purchasing an ID Genève timepiece, customers are given so-called Circular Coins, a virtual currency they can spend on the upkeep of their watch.

Breitling has looked to its sourcing of traditional materials to showcase its sustainable credentials. Chopard were pioneers in the use of 100% ethical gold, joining the Swiss Better Gold Association back in 2017 and committing to its exclusive use the following year. Now Breitling has announced its intention to follow suit, stating that by 2025 its entire product portfolio will feature ‘better’ gold and lab-grown diamonds. Showing its hand early, last year the brand released The Super Chronomat Automatic 38 Origins, which featured examples of both. It is also Breitling’s first ‘traceable’ timepiece, each watch sold with its own blockchain-backed NFT, outlining the provenance of its materials. “As an advocate for sustainability, I believe in this watch’s mission,” said its ambassador, two-time Olympic gold medal-winning snowboarder Chloe Kim. “We all have a responsibility to question where our products come from and to put a preference on brands that go the extra mile to source ethically.” W here most brands find common ground – or water, as is seemingly the case – on the subject of sustainability is ocean conservation. Breguet is the main partner for the Race for Water Foundation, which is committed to tackling the problem of highly polluted waters, while the likes of IWC and Rolex are engaged in various undertakings, the former teaming up with the Charles Darwin Foundation in its fight to preserve the ecosystem of the Galapagos Islands.

But it’s Blancpain that leads the way here, paying homage to its now legendary Fifty Fathoms diving watch by lending its considerable weight to supporting a wide range of initiatives aimed at tackling the multiple issues facing our oceans. For this, Blancpain has teamed up with passionate divers, leading scientists, underwater explorers, environmentalists, and photographers. Its commendable efforts are divided across the key pillars of awareness, exploration, and preservation. The latter includes The Protectors, a campaign Blancpain launched in collaboration with The Economist Group to have 30% of the planet’s oceans classified as marine protected areas by 2030 – a commitment since set in stone by last month’s historic High Seas Treaty. In 2014, the brand also issued the first in what’s now a three-strong series of limited edition – 250 pieces – Fifty Fathoms Ocean Commitment watches, donating part of the proceeds from their sales to further support its ocean initiatives.

It seems as though it’s only a matter of time before sustainability is the chief consideration for all in the industry.

Opening pages, from left to right: Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Ocean Commitment III; Female Fifty Fathoms Award photography prize entry

Opposite page: The Super Chronomat Automatic 38 Origins, Breitling This page, clockwise from above:

Circular 1, ID Geneve; Submersible

QuarantaQuattro eSteel™, Panerai; Diver Norrona Arctic Night, Ulysse Nardin