The oyster reefs of the Big Apple’s famous waters are being restored and Oris has got the Billion Oyster Project’s back.
Proceeds from sales of a new 2,000-piece limited-edition New York Harbor II Aquis Date diving watch – rendered in an azure shade that’ll have you hankering for a paddle – will support the restoration of oyster reefs to New York Harbor, which have historically helped to filter the water and promote biodiversity.
It’s good for 300 meters beneath the waves and is just the latest in a flotilla of charitable oceanographic specials for Oris, whose factory has been proudly carbon neutral since 2021 and has reduced its emissions by 10% since 2022. Featuring an aqua-green dial with a mother-of-pearl-effect finish (synthetic, of course, not from real oyster), it comes on a stainless-steel bracelet, with aqua green rubber strap also included.
It might seem like an esoteric initiative, but the science is irrefutable. An adult oyster can filter as much as 50 gallons of water a day, while oyster reefs create ecosystems for other marine life and form natural storm barriers. As experts often say: oyster reefs are to the ocean what trees are to the forest. Harvesting and pollution have the same effect on both.
In 2014, two local educators spotted an opportunity for New Yorkers to reconnect to their neglected waterfront. They founded Billion Oyster Project, a hugely ambitious non-profit that set the goal of returning one billion oysters to the Harbor.
It has now restored more than 150 million oysters and worked with more than 15,000 volunteers and 30,000 students.
“It’s not just about the oysters,” says Pete Malinowski, the project’s co-founder (pictured above). “We work with over 100 schools and thousands of students and volunteers to create a future where New Yorkers are deeply connected to and responsible for their marine environment.”
This year, the New York Harbor Limited Edition II sees Oris picking up the baton again, three years on from its first special, in pistachio green.
Each of the 2,000 Aquis Date New York Harbor IIs are engraved with an oyster motif on the caseback, sequestering the self-winding mechanics beneath (no doubt driven by Oris’s signature red rotor): a Caliber 733 with a 41-hour power reserve, adapted from Sellita’s workhorse ETA clone, the SW200.
As Oris’s impassioned and well-loved co-CEO Rolf Studer quite rightly observes, “We’re proud to witness first-hand the change we’re bringing together.
“Our mission continues.”
$3,000; oris.ch