Geneva Watch Days 2023 is here, and we’re ready for a slew of new watch releases to enjoy. One of the participating brands this year is fan-favorite Oris, and the company has just announced the release of Oris X Bracenet Aquis Date watches made in collaboration with a German social enterprise that makes accessories from upcycled fishing nets. The new Oris X Bracenet Aquis Date watches, available in two sizes, are the same diving watch models we know and love but now furnished with striking blue-green dials fashioned from recycled “ghost” nets, which are lost or discarded nets that wreak havoc on marine life.
Bracenet was founded by Benjamin Wenke and Madeleine von Hohenthal in 2015, and the company’s motto is “Save the seas, wear a net!” To make dials for the Oris watches, Bracenet takes small green, blue, and white net offcuts and gently warms them until they melt into a kaleidoscopic pattern. Once the material cools into a hardened sheet, they’re cut to size, planed, and sanded down to 0.3mm thick. Thanks to the nature of the raw material, production process, and lack of any additives, fillers, or glues, no two Bracenet dials are the same. Organizations such as Ghost Diving, Healthy Seas, and Nofir supply the nets to Bracenet by either recovering ghost nets from the seabed and shipwrecks or by sourcing end-of-life fishing nets straight from fisheries.
There are two Oris X Bracenet Aquis Date watches presented at Geneva Watch Days 2023, one with a 43.5mm case (ref. 733 7730 4137 07 8 24 05PEB) and the other with a 36.5mm case (ref. 733 7770 4137 07 8 18 05P). Both versions have stainless steel cases that are water-resistant to 300 meters, unidirectional rotating bezels, and steel bracelets with folding clasps. The bracelet of the larger Oris X Bracenet also includes a clasp extension.
The watches run on the Oris Caliber 733 (based on the Sellita caliber SW200-1) self-winding movement, which supplies 38 hours of power reserve. The movement is visible through the transparent mineral glass caseback, and as is customary for Oris watches, the rotor is rendered in red. The date, nestled in a window below 6 o’clock, is both quickset and instantaneous, and there’s also the hacking seconds hand. The hands and hour markers on the dial are filled with Super-LumiNova for low-light legibility.
Those who follow Oris know that the brand is heavily focused on sustainability, having launched its Change for the Better campaign back in 2010 to assist various conservation efforts. In 2021, Oris was awarded climate-neutral status by the independent organization ClimatePartner, and in 2022, Oris announced that it would reduce its carbon emissions by 10 percent a year for three years. By teaming up with Bracenet to create recycled dials from discards that pollute our waters, Oris is illustrating its commitment to sustainability while also giving us great-looking watches. The price of the Oris X Bracenet Aquis Date watches will be CHF 2,350 Swiss Francs and will be available to purchase in September 2023. For more information, please visit the brand’s website.
