Ulysse Nardin may have just crafted one of the cleanest dive watches you’ll ever see. No, we’re not referring to the brand-new Ocean Race‘s design—although it does look pretty sharp—but rather the materials it’s made from. That’s because Ulysse Nardin‘s latest timepiece is constructed almost entirely of recycled and upcycled materials. Nearly every element of the Ocean Race Diver is in its second life. The 44mm case is made from recycled stainless steel taken from cars. Its flanks and caseback, meanwhile, utilise a mixture of Carbonium, a carbon composite made from the recycled material found in aircraft fuselages and wings, and Nylo, a polyamide derived from fishing nets. The timepiece’s bezel insert is made from Carbonium and it features an all-new strap made from yarn also derived from recycled fishing nets. The watch and its dial, which is based on the Diver Net concept watch from 2020, are covered in green accents. Whether that’s a nod to its eco-conscious design and construction is up for interpretation.
Even the self-winding UN-118 Manufacture movement of the Ocean Race Diver makes use of recycled materials. This includes some of the steel and brass used to make it, while the rest of the materials are sourced from within a 19-mile radius of the Ulysse Nardin manufacture to reduce their environmental impact. Despite all this, the watch is still water-resistant up to 300 metres and has a 60-hour power reserve.
The Swiss watchmaker has been looking into ways to repurpose some of the 5,000 billion pieces of plastic waste that litter the Earth’s oceans for a few years now. In September 2020, the brand introduced the fabric R Strap, which is made from recycled fishing nets and is available on its Marine, Diver and Freak X watches.
The Ocean Race Diver is limited to just 200 examples but can be purchased now for RM49,100 at authorised retailer The Hour Glass. In the ultimate finishing touch, it comes presented in a water-resistant recycled PET pounced housed in a Helly Hanson bag made from recycled ocean plastic.
Previously published on Robb Report.
