Opinion
How Ulysse Nardin Made a Watch Out of Recycled Plastic Fishing Nets
Opinion
How Ulysse Nardin Made a Watch Out of Recycled Plastic Fishing Nets
To this end, rather than attempting to reinvent the wheel, Ulysse Nardin is turning to those that have travelled the mile in the research and use of waste materials in industrial processes, to inform its watchmaking. The first innovation to have been birthed from this ideology was the late 2020-announced R-Strap. This forward-thinking watch strap is weaved from an innovative polyamide yarn fully recycled from fishing nets and has been made to be compatible with Diver 44mm, Diver 42mm, Diver Chronograph, Marine Torpilleur and Freak X watches. Essentially, all the brand’s most desirable timepieces today.
But towards the close of 2020, Ulysse Nardin announced a partnership with FIL&FAB that took this concept even further. FIL&FAB’s prime intention focuses on the recovery of decommissioned fishing nets from harbors and the transformation of these into polyamide pellets, a raw material that can then be used to manufacture various items, for example, parts of a watch case.
Thing to note is that while it can be suggested that this is a lot of trouble to go through for a concept watch that the brand isn’t even making available for purchase, the lessons learnt from the exercise will no doubt bear impact on Ulysse Nardin’s future watchmaking.
There is another reason why going through all the trouble for a concept watch is necessary. With its heritage intertwined with the oceans, Ulysse Nardin understandably feels a deep sense of responsibility for the big blue yonder. And there is today undeniable scientific evidence that the issue of plastic pollution in the oceans is one that has traveled a lot further than anyone could have imagined.
On the occasion of the launch of the Diver Net, Crepel was charged to embark on a mission to go and retrieve a piece of ice from the top of the Pic du Midi in the Alps and present it as irrefutable proof that microplastic can now be found on mountain tops, and has entered the cycle of the elements. That is, nanoparticles evaporate into the clouds and it snows plastic. Crepel’s intention was to highlight the crucial importance of this land-ocean relationship and the fact that snow and ice are no longer pure.
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Ulysse Nardin’s environmental commitment follows the United Nations’ guidelines and their 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) – set to be achieved by 2030. The Ulysse Nardin brand, naturally focused on the sea world, its primary territory, has chosen to concentrate its efforts on SDG 14, which sets out what actions need to be carried out as a priority for sustainable management of the ocean.
By finding a new outlet for fishing nets and other plastic waste, as well as supporting scientists and sub-aqua whistleblowers, Ulysse Nardin is engaging in two priorities of SDG 14: reducing marine pollution and acquiring greater oceanographic knowledge. As the world enters the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030), this period focusing on the ocean is a window of opportunities for initiatives and engagement.