Million Air Summer 2021

PROTECTING THE ENVIRONMENT

There are many ways to protect the environment; one of them is reworking the watch manufactures to make them more carbon free. IWC was one of the first brands to offer incentives to employees for doing small things, like taking work-provided transport instead of driving. The manufacturer, along with others like Panerai and German-based brand A. Lange & Söhne, has made other important strides. They have rain catcher rooftops and recycle the clean water. A. Lange & Söhne also spent great sums of money while building its workshops to create a top-notch geothermal heating and cooling system. Even more affordable brands like the Mondaine Group (Mondaine, Luminox, etc.) have announced a 100% carbon free environment. Protecting the oceans and the forests is a great impetus for brands to get involved in charitable causes. Rolex has a large presence through its Perpetual Planet initiative and is highly involved in ocean exploration, as well as other types of research for sustainability and preservation. Audemars Piguet has its own foundation and works with 10 sites around the world to preserve forests. Blancpain has its own Ocean Commitment organization to raise awareness of and protect sea life, and Breitling works with Ocean Conservancy to help clean beaches and coasts around the world.

Above 2016 Rolex Award winner SonamWangchuk is helping Himalayan farmers overcome water shortages by tapping meltwaters to build artificial glaciers. rolex.com Left Breitling has been working on its Econyl NATO strap made from recycled fishing nets for some of its watches. Additionally, the brand and its Surfer Squad helped to clean up beaches in Bali while working with Ocean Conservancy. This Superocean Heritage Chronograph 44 Ocean Conservancy Limited Edition watch honors the cause. $6,250, available at Breitling, New York, breitling.com A leader in ethical and Fairmined gold practices, Chopard has pledged that, moving forward, all of its watches will be made from ethically sourced gold. This brand-new L.U.C Quattro Spirit 25 is a prime example. The watch, which features the brand’s first jumping hour complication with in-house-made movement, is crafted of ethical 18-karat rose gold. Just 100 pieces will be made. $44,700, chopard.com

Blancpain is a huge supporter of protecting our oceans and works with Laurent Ballesta on a host of missions. Most recently, they have embarked on a mission to study the impact that the lack of human activities in the oceans due to Covid-19 may have on the water and the sea life. Blancpain also creates an Ocean Commitment watch to draw awareness to the cause. blancpain.com

ETHICAL SOURCING Ever since the book Blood Diamond came out in 2002 (and the subsequent movie in 2006), raising awareness of conflict diamonds, the idea of ethically sourced diamonds has been paramount to consumers and brands. Most of the top watch brands turn to diamonds that are certified by the Kimberley Process, which works to eradicate conflict diamonds. Some have also gone above and beyond subscribing to the Kimberley Process and are working toward ethically sourcing other materials as well. Chopard has been a leader in the use of ethically sourced gold and was one of the first to support the Fairmined gold project that certifies gold from responsible artisanal mining organizations while ensuring environmental and social protection. Chopard is the first brand to announce that, from last year and going forward, all its gold watches and jewelry will be made from ethically sourced gold. Other companies are also putting efforts into tracing materials other than gold and diamonds. Some brands want the materials traced so they can be transparent with customers and also to be accountable to consumers about what is in the materials they use. Hublot, for instance, has concerns about the fact that brass has lead in it, and is making efforts to figure out a new lead-free brass material. With the strong focus on sustainability and on exploration into new materials, the next decade or two of watchmaking is sure to be yet another pioneering era.

Photos Laurent Ballesta