The Hollywood Reporter (Weekly)
Sustainability Hits the Watch World With Help (and Investment) From Leo
Status watches have lagged categories like fine jewelry and designer accessories when it comes to offering sustainable talking points, but lately they’re catching up. And make no mistake, clients are listening. “I don’t know that it’s the ultimate decision-making factor, but clients are aware,” says Scott Meller, president of L.A.’s Feldmar Watch Co., which carries brands that include Oris, Breitling and Bremont, all of which have released timepieces with sustainable elements in recent months. “People are still selecting or buying a watch for more traditional reasons — its movement and features, the way it looks on the wrist — but they’re also cognizant of the environment and showing concern for that. Sustainability in a watch adds value, there’s no question.”
Entering the conversation this fall is one of the world’s most high-profile actors. In October, Geneva-based watchmaker ID Genève announced that its latest round of investors includes environmental advocate Leonardo DiCaprio. “Their dedication to circular economy principles, sustainable materials and innovation is truly inspiring,” the star said in a statement.
Indeed, ID Genève may be the most committed watch company in the sustainable arena, crafting pieces with details that include recycled steel remelted in a solar furnace, straps that are vegan and compostable, and packaging derived from mushrooms and seaweed. In September the brand released Circular C, which features a bezel and dial made from recycled carbon fibers sourced from wind turbine manufacturing waste.
Among other brands, Breitling promotes its NATO straps, crafted from
ECONYL yarn, made from repurposed nylon waste pulled from the oceans, while Bremont’s just-released Supermarine Ocean in “Thresher Grey” supports ocean conservation.
In August, Oris released a new collaboration with German company Bracenet, which makes products from discarded fishing nets. “When we cut the nets to create our products, there are always offcuts,” explains Bracenet founder Benjamin Wenke. “We thought, what if we turned some of these into watch dials?” The result is a special-edition Oris Aquis diver’s watch (in men’s and women’s sizes) that features a dial using material made from those abandoned nets. “This would basically mean that the nets used for the dials have been upcycled twice,” says Wenke, noting that the manufacturing process results in no two dials being alike.
When it comes to South Florida’s hot residential real estate market, celebrities aren’t just flocking to Miami and Palm Beach.
In September, new Inter Miami CF player Lionel Messi plunked down $10.75 million for a 10-bedroom waterfront mansion in Fort Lauderdale’s guard-gated Bay Colony community, while Gisele Bündchen spent $9.1 million on an estate in Southwest Ranches, an equestrian enclave located about 15 miles from the Atlantic coast. “Instead of choosing another premier neighborhood in the urban core, [some stars] are deciding to venture out and purchase something a little more private,” says Douglas Elliman agent Shakira Sanchez. “There are lots of eyes on these people; I think it’s going to be very interesting to see how that unfolds.”
Sanchez also notes that the high-profile purchases by these Latin stars are in line with an overall rise in Latino home ownership nationwide. In 2022, Latino ownership in the United States hit 48.6 percent, marking the eighth straight year of growth. But there still remains a more than 20-point gap compared with non-Hispanic white homeownership in the U.S.