Like the rest of the luxury business, watchmaking is wrestling with sustainability.
How to green a business that by definition involves precious materials, global supply chains and industrial manufacturing processes?
It’s far from straightforward.
As outlined in a special report in Esquire there are positive signs of change from the big players. Omega, Cartier and IWC Schaffhausen have now signed the Responsible Jewellery Council code of conduct for accessing precious metals and gemstones. All of Chopard’s gold has come from ethical sources since 2018; Chopard and Rolex run their own gold foundries in order to recycle.
While across the industry, sustainability reports, ethical business officers and recycled packaging abound.
Other brands have been forging ahead by experimenting with different types of sustainable materials. Last year Panerai, the Swiss-Italian dons of serious dive watches, announced the Submersible eLAB-ID, a non-production concept watch made from 98.6 per cent recycled materials, which, it says, is “the watch with the highest percentage of recycled-based material ever made".
Today it has announced another step towards developing strategies for a more sustainable future, one that includes reducing waste and reusing materials.
Today it announced a new family of 44mm models that sit within its Submersible family of dive models, called Submersible QuarantaQuattro.
Within that family sits the Submersible QuarantaQuattro eSteelTM – good luck asking for that in the boutique – a new watch made from more than fifty percent recycled materials.
As its name suggests it uses something Panerai has called eSteeITM, which the company says behaves the same way as conventional steel, in terms of its resistance to corrosion, structure and so on.
Steel is one of the world's most sustainable materials – although it is made from fossil fuels and minerals, it is essentially endlessly recyclable, so long as practises are put in place to do so.
The new watch comes in “deep blue”, grey and (appropriately) green and measures 44mm. The dial has a gradient effect, so the colour deepens gradually from top to bottom, a nice touch.
Elsewhere, the design codes from the brand’s Submersible family are all there. The anti-clockwise rotating bezel, the safety lock crown protection device and the screw case-back. The watch is water resistant to 300 meters.
The Submersible QuarantaQuattro eSteelTM comes with two straps, one rubber and one PET fabric.
Both recycled, of course.
All three colours are £9,300; panerai.com
