Editor’s Note: Watches & Wonders (formerly SIHH) has moved online and Baselworld 2020 is canceled, but that hasn’t stopped watch brands large and small from debuting their new wares. Stay on top of this year’s best new watch releases here.
A sleek-looking watch like the new diver from Alpina is all the more attractive for supporting a worthy cause. Housed within the brand’s Seastrong collection, the Gyre models are made to a significant extent from recycled materials collected from the ocean. Of course, they still promise the Swiss-made, automatic, heavy duty diving specs expected of the line, and feature some unique looks, to boot.
Certain brands have used recycled plastic for packaging and straps, but Alpina has gone the extra step to use the material in its watch cases: With 70% of the all-black cases made of plastic fishing nets recovered from the Indian ocean, the remaining 30% is fiberglass for strengthening. It’s a bold step to offer a plastic-cased watch, but the cause seems to justify it — and as Casio has proven, plastic is an excellent material as far as shock resistance and lightness are concerned.
This means the 44mm cases will be light and comfortable, and it’ll be at home back in the ocean with its 300m of water resistance. With even the NATO-style straps made from recycled plastic bottles, that’s about as much recycled material as you can hope to fit on your wrist. Of course, the Sellita SW200-1 automatic movement inside is made of traditional metals.
Alpina partnered with the Dutch company Gyre to produce the recycled watch cases, as well as with the NGO Surfrider Foundation Europe. The Alpina Seastrong Gyre, which is available in blue and turquoise dials, has a price of $1,395 and is available directly from the brand.
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