This Fan-Favorite Dive Watch Just Launched a New Must-Have Version

The New York Harbor II Limited Edition dive watch supports the Billion Oyster Project.

Close-up of a stainless steel dive watch with a teal dial and matching teal rubber strap.

Add Gear Patrol as a Preferred Source on Google

By Brad Lanphear

Published August 19, 2025

·

Updated August 19, 2025

If you buy from a link, we may earn a commission. Learn more

The water in New York City’s harbor is notoriously dirty, but one Swiss watch company is helping a local project clean it up by restoring the city’s once-thriving oyster population.

Oris just released its second limited edition watch to raise money for the Billion Oyster Project, a non-profit that works with students, educators and volunteers to rebuild New York’s oyster reefs.

Blue Oris Aquis dive watch with a stainless steel bezel and blue rubber strap, placed on a pile of oyster shells. — The New York Harbor II’s dial has an unusually thin layer of mother-of-pearl, made from mollusk shells.

Aptly named the New York Harbor II, it is based on Oris’s Aquis Date Relief, a professional-grade dive watch with a 300m water resistance and an integrated bracelet. The 43mm case is topped with a unidirectional stainless steel bezel with a diving scale carved in relief into the steel insert.

The New York Harbor II has a screw-down crown protected by a crown guard and an AR-coated sapphire crystal domed on both sides. The large dial provides ample legibility, aided by lumed hands, applied hour markers and a pip on the bezel.

Blue-dial Oris Aquis wristwatch with a silver bezel and blue rubber strap, displaying the time as 12:15:30, worn on a wrist with a beige textured sleeve. The watch face includes white hour markers, a date window at 6 o'clock, and text indicating "Aquis Pressure Resist 300m/1000ft" and "Swiss Made. — The New York Harbor II has a 43mm case to optimize legibility underwater.

It comes on a turquoise rubber strap with a steel folding clasp, and a three-link steel bracelet is included. During a launch event for the watch in New York City’s harbor, it became evident that the color resembles the famous oxidized copper of the Statue of Liberty.

Save the oysters, save the harbor

Oris is a natural fit for this partnership because the Billion Oyster Project heavily depends on SCUBA divers to build the oysters’ underwater habitats. The first New York Harbor watch, a 41mm Aquis Date Relief in green, was released in 2022.

Two Oris wristwatches with rubber straps are displayed on a textured, natural background. The watch on the left has a light green strap and a matching green mother-of-pearl dial with silver hour markers and hands. The watch on the right features a bright blue strap and a blue dial with silver hour markers and hands. — The New York Harbor I (left) next to the New York Harbor II (right).

At the launch event, Oris CEO Rolf Studer explained that the brand takes responsibility for helping preserve the natural environments that make dive watches enjoyable.

The Billion Oyster Project was founded in 2014 by Pete Malinowski and Murray Fisher while teaching at the New York Harbor School. Oysters are filter feeders that actively clean the water in which they live.

Before New York City industrialized and experienced a population boom in the early 1800s, billions of oysters lived in the harbor and surrounding waterways. But pollution and over-harvesting wiped out the population.

Malinowski and the project’s volunteers build reefs from crushed oyster shells recovered from restaurants and fisheries. These reefs mimic the natural habitat oysters create over thousands of years when undisturbed.

Two men are standing on a boat with the Brooklyn Bridge and the Williamsburg Bridge behind them. — Oris CEO Rolf Studer presents the Billion Oyster Project leader, Pete Malinowski, with New York Harbor II watch number 0002 of 2,000.

They also use hollow concrete spheres with multiple openings that mimic the underwater rock environments in which oysters thrive. The project aims to restore the oyster population to one billion by 2035.

As of August 2025, the project has restored approximately 150 million
oysters across 17 active reef sites cover about 19 acres around Governor’s Island.

Just a little mother-of-pearl

When asked about the dial’s construction, Studer described the range of visual details that can be achieved with mother-of-pearl — a natural material produced by oysters and other mollusks inside their shells.

A steel Oris wristwatch with a turquoise dial and matching turquoise rubber strap, placed on a bed of white seashells. The watch face features white hour markers, a date window at 6 o'clock, and the text "ORIS," "AQUIS," and "PRESSURE RESISTANT 30 bar / 300 m / 1000 ft." — The New York Harbor II uses a thin mother-of-pearl layer over a turquoise dial plate.

The New York Harbor II has a thin layer of mother-of-pearl to achieve the wavy texture, while avoiding the purple, blue and green colors that show up with thicker layers. It is placed over a turquoise dial plate to create a strong base color.

I asked Struder about the increased case size compared to the New York Harbor I, noting that it goes against the prevailing trend of 2025. He volunteered that he prefers smaller cases in the 36mm to 38mm range on his wrist, but that Oris’s American sales demonstrate that the market for larger dive watches is still going strong.

Back of a stainless steel wristwatch with a teal rubber strap, featuring an engraved emblem and text that reads "NEW YORK HARBOR LIMITED EDITION II" and "00278/2000". — The caseback of the New York Harbor II is numbered and features an engraving of three oysters.

Malinowski revealed that the funds provided by Oris through sales of the first New York Harbor watch helped the Billion Oyster Project purchase vital equipment. The New York Harbor II should have an equally tangible impact, but it is also a gorgeous dive watch with an intricate dial.

Even without the noble cause it supports, this is one of the most intriguing and unique dive watches Oris has ever produced. The measured use of mother-of-pearl creates a subtle effect ideal for everyday wear.

Availability and price

The Oris New York Harbor II is available now from Oris for $3,000.

It comes on a rubber strap with a steel folding clasp, and a three-link steel bracelet fitted to the integrated lugs is also included with the watch.

This is a limited edition of 2,000 pieces. Each watch is numbered on the caseback.

Oris Aquis dive watch with a turquoise dial and matching rubber strap.

Oris New York Harbor II

Specs

Case Size	43mm
Movemement	Oris caliber 733 automatic
Water Resistance	300m

$3,000 at Oris

About the Author: Brad Lanphear is an associate editor at Gear Patrol covering watches and style. Before joining the publication, he previously wrote for Heddels and Men’s Health. Now, he’s on a never-ending quest to find the perfect pair of Japanese denim.