Boat International - June 2018

PHOTOGRAPHY: LAURENT BALLESTA; GETTY IMAGES; REX/SHUTTERSTOCK; M

ARTIN STRMISKA; FRANCOIS SCHAER

T

herearegreater,morefrivolousindulgences

thanaluxurywatch(asuperyacht,anyone?)

but,bychoosingright,yournexttimepiececould

help theseaswelovetoplayin.

It just so happens that “ocean-saving” watches are all

the rageatthemoment.Severalbrandsarefollowingthe

lead ofIWC,whichin2004soughttoprotecttheworld’s

coralreefsthroughitssponsorshipoftheCousteau

SocietyandthelaunchofaspecialseriesofAquatimer

dive watches. That association continues today, but

in 2009IWClaunchedanothercollaborationwiththe

CharlesDarwinFoundationwhich,forthepast59years,

has worked towards the protection and conservation

of theGalápagosIslands.Again,IWChasestablished

an arrangementwherebyitdonatesanannuallumpsum

to thefoundationwhileraisingawarenessofitthrough

a series of limited-edition watches. The brand also

createdaspecial,500-pieceAquatimerSharksmodel

to highlight the plight of the estimated 100 million

sharks killed annually by humans.

Oris,too,setouttohelpsharkswithits2017Aquis

Hammerhead dive watch, also made in 500 examples.

It hasfollowedthatthisyearwithanewClipperton

modelthatisaimedatraisingmoneytohelpprotect

the waters around the uninhabited island of that

name,whichliesalmost700milessouthofMexico’s

Baja peninsula.

Omega,meanwhile,ofersitsPlanetOcean600m

GoodPlanetmodelwithpartofthepricebeingdonated

CHECKLIST

CEAN

to the restoration and protection of

theIndonesiancoastsaroundBahoi

and Tanakeke islands.

Butfewwatchbrandshavedone

more to keep the seas alive than

Blancpain.ItsFiftyFathomsmodel,

one of the first professional-quality

dive watches, was made famous

when Jacques Cousteau wore one

in the 1956 documentar yThe Silent

World.Byusingsomeofthemoney

madefromsalesofspecialeditionsduringthepastfouryears,

Blancpain has provided the funding of 10 ocean conser vation

expeditions in conjunction with the Ocean Commitment

programme.Itslatestfundraisingwatch,theFiftyFathoms

Bathyscaphe Ocean Commitment II Flyback Chronograph,

hasbeenmadein250exampleswith€1,000fromeachone

sold being donated

to the programme.

Thelatestcompany

to ofer ocean

conser vation as an

incentivetobuying

your next dive watch

isCarl F Bucherer,

which has made 188

versionsofitsPatravi

ScubaTec Manta Trust

modeltoraisemoneytoprotectgiantmantaraysinmorethan

20countriesaroundtheworld.Again,achunkofthepricegoes

to charity, this time the Manta Trust.

Rolexisalsohelpingtoprotectmantarays,having

awarded 100,000 Swiss francs (£80,000) to Kerstin Forsberg

in November 2016 as part of its Awards for Enterprise

scheme. Forsberg, a 34-year-old biologist, is studying the

giantfishinthewatersofnorthernPeruthroughanNGO

called Planet Ocean.

WhereIWCledwithitsoceansaving

collaborations, many watchmakers

have followed, saysSimondeBurton

WEAR A

SOUND WATCH

From top: Aquatimer Sharks, £9,950, iwc.com; Clipperton, £1,720, oris.ch; Planet Ocean 600m GoodPlanet, £5,440, omegawatches.com;

Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe Ocean Commitment II, POA, blancpain.com; Patravi ScubaTec Manta Trust, £4,500, carl-f-bucherer.com

Biologist Kerstin

Forsberg, right,

won a Rolex Award

for Enterprise

Blancpain’s Gombessa III

Antarctic expedition

Rolex helps

protect

manta rays

Jacques

Cousteau

in The Silent

World

Oris supports

Clipperton Island

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