nvironmental responsibility brings obligations of transparency, translated into legislative frameworks such as the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive and Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSDDD and CSRD for short), which currently apply only to large companies and groups.

“Small” brands that follow an environmentally responsible model do so not out of obligation but out of choice, as an integral part of their corporate values. These eco-conscious brands also adhere to the principles of a circular economy so as to minimise their environmental impacts, a cornerstone of this being eco-design.

An ocean of aluminium cans

Michel Teweles founded Rvow (“Revitalize our world”) last year after witnessing the harsh reality of ocean pollution. As a tactical skipper, Teweles sailed the world, competing in such prestigious races as the America’s Cup. One day in February 1995, off the coast of Rottnest Island, Australia, he and his crew found themselves sailing through a mass of floating cans and waste: a vision of nightmarish proportions, extending as far as the eye could see.

The experience would shape Teweles’ thinking: “This awful sight stuck in my mind. It was an epiphany, a call to action. The ocean, a symbol of freedom and purity, had become the mirror of a neglectful, wasteful society.”

The Phoenix (closed dial) and Gyres (skeleton) by Rvow

Watches had always interested Teweles and so thirty years later, he launched Rvow, using aluminium cans recovered from the Mediterranean as raw material. It takes seven cans to make one of the pellets used to manufacture case, dial, crown and hands. Straps are made out of recycled plastic from fishing nets which are collected in Brittany, France, by Seaqual, a pioneer in the transformation of discarded nets.

Rvow has launched a crowdfunding campaign for its next model, The Drake.

Michel Teweles sees this new endeavour as a way to “deliver a message of sustainability, recycling and respect for the environment, and in doing so make my activity more meaningful.” Even the brand’s display stands are made from driftwood. Every one of Rvow’s first 200 watches found a buyer. On May 6th the brand launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund the next stage in its development. The Drake will be a collection of 500 watches, distinguished by a “half and half” dial, for fans of sustainable and affordable watchmaking.

“A tribute to the natural elements”

The most prominent player among the cohort of eco-responsible brands has to be ID Genève. Having welcomed Leonardo DiCaprio as an investor in 2024, the brand is taking its activist principles into new markets and is now distributed by Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons in the Middle East, after Watches of Switzerland in the UK and US.

Air, one of the five watches in the Elements collection by ID Genève, inspired by natural beauty. Case and bracelet in recycled steel, recovered from companies in the Jura; refurbished ETA movement; nano-engraved dial by Morphotonix with no polluting inks.

The brand has started delivery of the eagerly-awaited Elements collection, whose dials are inspired by the planet’s four elements of water, air, earth and fire, plus a fifth element that embodies the interconnected beauty of nature. As a brand that champions sustainable and circular luxury, ID Genève also advocates transparency and is first to publish its impact report. In the words of co-founder and CEO Nicolas Freudiger, this key document “sets out our commitment, progress made and the challenges we are taking up for a more sustainable and innovative industry.”

A 50-piece limited edition, the fifth element is a reminder that we each have a role to play in achieving a more sustainable economic model.

Circularity is embedded in ID Genève watches. The elegant case (37mm wide, 8.8mm high) is made from recycled 316L 1.4441 stainless steel, collected from companies in the Jura region and smelted by Panatere in La Chaux-de-Fonds. The robust ETA 2892 automatic movements are refurbished from unsold inventory. Made in Switzerland, they are easily repaired and serviced anywhere in the world.

Bracelets are also recycled stainless steel, while straps are made from bio-sourced material, which can be grape residue left over from wine production, produced by Vegea (UK) or Nisiar (France), or hemp produced by Revoltech (Germany). Even the Super-LumiNova for the hands and indices is entirely recycled. Dials employ a nano-engraving technique developed by Morphotonix, a Swiss start-up and specialist in printing technologies for banknotes and passports.

The resulting iridescent motifs create plays of light across the dial which, says Nicolas Freudiger, are designed to “pay tribute to the natural elements so that men and women can wear their convictions on their wrist.” It’s a strong message, matched by a product that respects principles of circularity and transparency.

Ulysse Nardin’s ultra-light, circular dive watch

Having read this far, it may seem as though only new and “affordable” brands (between CHF 2,000 and CHF 5,000) can promote an environmental message. Think again. Environmental convictions are independent of a brand’s price positioning or when it was founded. Ulysse Nardin is a case in point. Established in 1846, it recently introduced the Diver [AIR] which, at 52 grams strap included, is the world’s lightest dive watch. However, technological innovation isn’t the only thing the Diver [AIR] has going for it.

The Diver [AIR] by Ulysse Nardin is a combination of innovative technology and circularity. The world’s lightest dive watch at 52 grams, it comprises 90% recycled materials, from recycled titanium for the movement to the case inserts in Nylo®-Foil, a unique blend of 60% Nylo® and 40% recycled carbon fibre.

While the engineering and skeletonisation required to reduce the weight of a watch that withstands impacts of 5,000g is impressive to say the least, Ulysse Nardin’s most radical decision is to have used virtually nothing but recycled materials (the cornerstone of circularity) and to be fully transparent about the origin of each one. Ninety per cent of the newly developed UN-374 calibre is made from recycled titanium that is recovered by TiFast from Switzerland’s biomedical industry, then processed by Thyssenkrupp, one of the biggest names in materials engineering. Inserts in the case sides are in Nylo®-Foil, which is a unique blend of 60% Nylo^® and 40% carbon fibre.

From the remarkable engineering and skeletonisation required to remove mass from the dial/movement and attain impact-resistance of 5,000g to the circularity of recycled materials: even the escapement is made from upcycled silicon wafers, supplied by Sigatec in Switzerland.

Nylo^®, from French start-up Fil & Fab, is made from discarded fishing nets while the carbon fibre is recovered from IMOCA racing yachts, manufactured by CDK Technologies, and recycled by Extrachtive. Both the titanium and the carbon fibre are processed by Lavoisier Composites, a French specialist in high-tech circular materials, to become Nylo^®-Foil. The luminescent bezel is forged from CarbonFoil, upcycled from IMOCA hulls. Even the escapement is manufactured from upcycled silicon wafers supplied by Sigatec in Switzerland. Ulysse Nardin has put in place an entire circular ecosystem that proves a watch can be high-tech, high-performance and sustainable.

A broad offering

Staying at the high end of the market, newcomer Pragma emerged from co-founders Christopher Wegener, a watchmaker, and designer Kai Hsuan Liu’s shared belief that Swiss excellence can coincide with environmental responsibility; that luxury must be conscious of its impacts and seek ways to reduce them; and that a product must convey values on which to build a community.

Pragma’s debut collection, the P1 Perseverance, is composed of 82.7% recycled materials. The case is made entirely from solar stainless steel supplied by Panatere, recycled from steel collected in the Jura and melted in a solar-powered furnace. This divides the environmental impact from energy production by 165.

The movement for the Pragma P1 is by Chronode with plate and bridges in recycled titanium.

The brand’s debut collection, P1 Perseverance, is composed of 82.7% recycled materials and, here too, transparency is key. The refined 39mm case, developed with Voutilainen & Cattin'>Cattin SA, is entirely in recycled solar stainless steel supplied by Panatere [steel waste is collected in the Jura and melted in a solar-powered furnace, dividing energy production impact by 165].

The movement, which drives an original date display and small seconds, is by Chronode, with plate and bridges in recycled titanium. Straps, from L’Atelier du Bracelet, are in Cordura re/corTM, a fabric made from reclaimed offcuts. It doesn’t take long to see that an entire circular ecosystem exists at every price level.

Raising awareness through beauty

Established in 2019, Awake first came to public attention with its NASA-approved, limited-edition Mission to Earth watches that reveal Earth’s beauty seen from space, thanks to an NFC tag embedded in the sapphire crystal that connects to images from the International Space Station.

Inside the presentation box of one of the 100 Jurassic Watches from Awake is a genuine T-Rex tooth, accompanied by an authenticity certificate. A rare symbol of an era that continues to fuel both science and our imagination, it will delight the person who unexpectedly receives this relic from the past. The dials of the T-Rex (orange) and Raptors (green) are created using the ancient Vietnamese technique of Son Mài lacquer on silver leaf gilding, to produce an incomparable texture whose colour constantly changes as light reflects across its surface.

Close-up of the T-Rex and Raptor dials, “signed” with double and triple slash marks. Hands and indexes are wrapped in blue Super-LumiNova for contrast.

This year Awake presents Son Mài, its first permanent collection, with métiers d’art dials. In the words of co-founder Lilian Thibault, “We aim to reveal the beauty of a world we must preserve for future generations, much like the ancestral crafts that form humanity’s cultural wealth.” It’s a philosophical concept intended to raise awareness that also takes the very real form of strikingly beautiful dials. Each is hand-crafted by Vietnamese lacquer artists (Son Mài is Vietnamese for “lacquer”) with natural lacquer obtained from a Vietnamese tree that yields just 200 millilitres of sap a year, when mature. The pigments that colour the lacquer are also natural. Cases are in recycled 316L steel. Nature and circularity in perfect harmony.

The scales on the marine leather straps, made by Ictyos from upcycled salmon skin, add to the reptilian feel of these two 50-piece limited editions.

In April, the brand introduced the Jurassic Watch limited editions with Son Mài dials. A nod to the 1993 film, they feature a bright green dial or a fiery orange dial whose colours reference the eyes of the cinematic dinos. Both are worn on marine leather straps made from upcycled salmon skin by Ictyos, a specialist in luxury marine leather.

Awake’s Son Mài watches are fitted with a finely decorated G101 calibre by La Joux-Perret.

The overall effect is wonderfully reptilian and illustrates the high standard of quality circularity can achieve. The movement for both versions is a Swiss-made G101 calibre by La Joux-Perret. Awake proves that it is possible to create Swiss-made, eco-friendly, métiers d’art watches at an accessible price, with a differentiated offering that delivers an important message.

All these examples prove that solutions exist for a more sustainable watch industry at all price levels; that circularity takes shape through a virtuous ecosystem, and that beauty, environmental protection, craftsmanship and innovation can go together.