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Luxury watches for a clear conscience

2021-12-08T17:53:58.008Z


Luxury brands have to pay more attention to the issues of ethics and sustainability, because the pressure of the new power shoppers is increasing. "Statement watches" for a clear conscience are in demand: This is also changing the luxury watch industry.


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Watches for humanitarian aid: The

Nomos

manufactory

has produced a "Doctors Without Borders Model" for the 50th birthday of the aid organization.

The

"Tangente 38 - 50 ans de Médecins Sans Frontières"

is based on the manufacturer's classic hand-wound and measures 38 millimeters diagonally.

Limited to 2,021 pieces for 1,620 euros, of which 100 euros will be donated to the aid organization.

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2 / 10th

Mühle Glashütte is

launching the

"ProMare Date GEO Charity"

with an automatic movement

in an edition of 102 copies

.

100 euros of the 1,990 euros purchase price will be transferred to the Society for the Rescue of the Dolphins to protect the Baltic Sea.

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To support the award-winning Oceaneum Museum in Stralsund,

Seiko

is

creating

two diving watches: On the one hand, the

"Prospex Save the Ocean SRPG57K1"

with automatic movement, weekday and date

display

, made of stainless steel with a diameter of 42 millimeters and water

resistance of

up to 20 bar for 550 euros.

On the other hand ...

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... the somewhat lavish automatic model

"Prospex Save the Ocean SRPG59K1"

with silicone

strap

and unidirectional rotating

divers' bezel

.

Cost 570 euros.

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Ecologically harmless: the bracelet with imitation leather consists of apples and a plastic, the drive is based on solar technology.

With the

"Tank Must Solarbeat Photovoltaics",

Cartier

created

a novelty in the luxury watch world without having to forego the familiar upper-class design.

The large stainless steel version starts at around 2,620 euros and ...

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... the smaller and more feminine version starts at 2,490 euros.

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Unique items to protect the oceans:

Oris

uses

colorful dials made of recycled plastic previously collected from water

for the automatic diver's watch

"Aquis Date Upcycle"

.

Presentable with either a 41.5 or 36.5 millimeter stainless steel case at a unit price of 2,000 euros.

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An expensive eye-catcher with a role model:

"Luminor Submersible eLAB-ID"

is the name of the ecological special model from

Panerai

, whose luminous material and silicon are 100 percent recycled.

In addition to 80 percent recycled titanium, which was also built into the automatic movement with a three-day power reserve.

A premiere in the luxury watch world - but this eco-investment requires 60,000 euros.

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For the rebirth of its icon,

Chopard

relies on a new, sustainable stainless steel: In the retro version of the

"Happy Sport The First"

, whose watch was first released in 1993, the manufacturer uses 70 percent recycled Lucent steel.

In addition, the 33 millimeter delicate everyday watch has its own manufacture caliber with automatic winding and the famous dancing diamonds on the dial.

9,850 euros.

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Cool newcomer among sustainable watch brands:

Triwa

from Sweden presents the

"x Sea Shepherd Time for Action"

with a quartz movement

as the latest statement watch

. The case and bracelet are made almost entirely of recycled ocean plastic waste. 15 percent of the purchase price of 149 euros will be donated to the non-profit environmental organization Sea Shepherd.

Luxury brands grow three times faster than the market average - provided they implement their production and working conditions fairly, follow responsible supply chains and sustainable environmental measures. Despite the corona crisis. This is confirmed by the study "Luxury Goods Worldwide Market Study 2021" by the consulting firm Bain & Company. "Up until now it was mainly about status, logos and exclusivity, today manufacturers of luxury goods have to focus on sustainability, diversity and social responsibility," explains Bains retail expert Marie-Therese Marek.

The study also shows: Generations Y and Z in particular are the drivers for the new consciousness.

By 2025, these customer groups should determine 70 percent of the demand for luxury goods.

According to the Nielsen Report, almost 70 percent of power shoppers are already willing to pay more for sustainable products.

According to Marek, the luxury brands "will no longer only be able to score points with extraordinary creativity and high quality".

Definition of luxury is currently being rewritten

The definition of luxury is currently being rewritten.

Instead of killing rare animals for precious products or mining rare earths and metals, luxury should increasingly be compatible with sustainability and ethical action.

Likewise, the self-love of some luxury labels is a thing of the past.

Forward-looking watchmakers recognized this long ago.

So they tied up with the organizers of glamorous charity events and influencers.

But the younger customers are not satisfied with that either.

Sincerity and transparency are required.

Above all, Millennials want to do something useful with their money, and ideally even save the world.

Ideally, fine watches should be made from recycled materials - or at least part of the proceeds should support social projects.

This is what the industry calls sustainable statement watches that you can proudly show off with a clear conscience.

The brands fear nothing more than a digital shit storm.

Nomos with special models for Doctors Without Borders

It is now considered good form at the manufactories to get involved in charity with special editions. Nomos has been involved with "Watches for Humanitarian Aid" for ten years. In the meantime, the Saxon manufacturer has produced 14 different editions for Doctors Without Borders and, depending on the edition, between 100 and 250 euros of the unit price ends up directly with people in need. Over 10,000 of these models have already done their good - a total of more than one million euros was raised. The aid organization is celebrating its 50th birthday this December, for which Nomos is launching the limited special edition "Tangente 38 - 50 ans de Médecins Sans Frontières".

Mühle Glashütte has been taking a different path of charity since the summer.

"In cooperation with GEO we are committed to a special edition for the sea - more precisely for the Baltic Sea," explains managing director Thilo Mühle.

From the proceeds of every "ProMare Date GEO Charity", 100 euros go directly to the Society for Rescue of the Delphine eV, in order to salvage ghost nets.

Mill and Seiko discover the sea ...

The Japanese brand Seiko is also helping the Baltic Sea with two versions.

In the "Prospex Save the Ocean" collection, the new diving watches support the Ozeaneum museum in Stralsund, which is committed to protecting marine life.

All three brands rely on mechanical calibers - the most sustainable drive.

Automatic or hand-wound movements can even be repaired for generations.

In contrast, with quartz watches and smartwatches with environmentally harmful batteries or rechargeable batteries as well as irreparable electronics, the half-life is only a few years.

... and Cartier uses photovoltaics

This is exactly where one of the largest luxury watch manufacturers recently hit.

Cartier succeeded in creating a clever and resource-saving technology mix.

The in-house development laboratory designed a photovoltaic system that is hidden from view in the dial.

Through tiny perforations in the digits, solar energy reaches the solar cells and stores them without any environmentally harmful batteries.

This premiere is presented in the famous classic "Tank Must" without changing the design.

Two years of development went into the Solar Beat movement with an average lifespan of 16 years.

Upcycling for individualists

Oris even offers ecologically perfect style. In the high-performance diving watches with automatic drive "Aquis Date Upcycle", colorful dials made from recycled PET plastic waste are used. The eye-catcher effect: each model is unique, as the plastic that the Everwave organization collects from water is treated with colorful structures by the recycling specialist #tide.

Panerai also wants to save the world and uses recycled materials in the special model "Luminor Submersible eLAB-ID". For the first time in the luxury watch world, 100 percent recycled luminous material was used for the dial and hands, as well as completely recycled silicon for the escapement. The whole thing is surrounded by a case and dial as well as bridges made of 80 percent recycled titanium. Panerai's CEO Jean-Marc Pontroué had to set up a completely new supply chain and would like to serve as a role model: "We would be delighted if all of our colleagues in Switzerland and around the world would contact the same suppliers and use the same materials." To do this, he even broke a taboo - he published all of the suppliers that made the project possible.

Recycled metals are nothing new to the industry

Recycled metals for jewelry and watch production is nothing new.

The family company Chopard has been using certified "Fairmined Gold" for its precious objects since 2018, which massively improves the working conditions of the miners and the environmental protection of the mines.

What is new, however, is "Lucent Stahl A223", which consists of 70 percent recycled metals.

It premiered a few months ago in the new women's model "Happy Sport The First".

The newcomer brand Triwa from Sweden chooses the less luxurious but the most radical path: It produces watches from destroyed weapons.

The organization "Humanium Metal" collects illegal weapons in Latin America, scraps them, recycles the metals and Triwa uses them for watch cases.

In addition, 15 percent of watch sales go to the development aid initiative IM.

The Swedes are introducing the "x Sea Shepherd Time for Action" as the latest statement watch.

It consists almost entirely of recycled ocean plastic waste and here, too, 15 percent of the proceeds go to the non-profit environmental organization Sea Shepherd.

However, it is powered by batteries that will eventually have to be disposed of.

Source: spiegel

All news articles on 2021-12-08

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