Oris Helps Fight Ocean Pollution with Aquis Date Upcycle

There are so many deeply troubling statistics about plastic waste. They should be hard to ignore.

For example, every year, as many as 13 million tons of plastic leak into our oceans, according to UN Environment. That’s a truckload every minute. An article on National Geographic reasons that there are 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic waste in our oceans, of which 269,000 tons float on the surface. Only 9 percent of all plastic ever produced is thought to have been recycled.

Despite efforts, we’re not reversing the trend yet. The negative effect on our climate, our health and our economy is potentially catastrophic. There is a lot of work to do.

Oris is on a mission to bring Change for the Better. As part of that, the company is proud to announce that it is now climate neutral and that in partnership with ClimatePartner, it will publish its first sustainability report in 2022. Oris will also continue to focus on the world’s oceans, supporting conservation organizations with limited-edition watches.

One such watch was the Clean Ocean Limited Edition Oris 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. The company continues to support its work.

This year, Oris introduces the Aquis Date Upcycle, a version of its high-performance diver’s watch with a dial made of recycled PET plastic.

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 organizing clean-up days for World Cleanup Day for several 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.

The watch, which is available with either a 41.5mm or 36.5mm case, is particularly special. The PET plastic recycling process produces random patterns, meaning no two dials are the same. In effect therefore, each piece is unique. Oris is not limiting either size, and it will keep making them for as long as there’s demand. The company’s hope is that customers will choose Aquis Date Upcycle and join Oris in making a daily commitment to reducing the world’s ocean plastic crisis.

Beyond the dial, the watches share their architecture with the popular Aquis Date 41.5mm and 36.5mm models. Both have a stainless-steel case and a unidirectional rotating diver’s bezel with a scratch-resistant grey ceramic insert.
They also have a stainless-steel bracelet with a clasp extension system, crown protectors, a screw-down crown and a Swiss Made automatic mechanical movement.

The story doesn’t end there. Oris will supply the watches in special presentation boxes made by its new partner #tide ocean material®. The boxes are made of upcycled ocean-bound plastic waste.

To date, #tide, which is committed to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, has saved 15 million PET plastic bottles from entering the ocean. Its recycling processes save 52 percent of the energy used in creating virgin plastics, and its production methods cause 79 percent less greenhouse gas emissions. And what’s more, its plastics can be recycled – again and again. You’ll also find them in #tide coffee cups, jewelry and even sports hall floors.

For Oris, the partnership makes even more sense because #tide’s plastic is made in Switzerland. Working with #tide has helped Oris Change for the Better, create awareness, and reduce its carbon footprint.

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