Swatch and Panerai’s ‘green’ launches at Watches and Wonders 2021

Watch brands from both ends of the price spectrum talk sustainability

April 09, 2021 04:54 pm | Updated 04:54 pm IST

The Panerai Submersible eLAB-ID

The Panerai Submersible eLAB-ID

Panerai Submersible eLAB-ID: Panerai says it’s a watch with the highest percentage of recycled-based material ever made. It is constructed from 98.6% recycled elements by weight. The case, sandwich dial and bridges are composed of recycled titanium from the aviation industry. It has recycled SuperLuminova™ on its dial and hands, and recycled silicon for its movement escapement. From the sapphire crystal to the gold hands, most of the major components contain recycled-based material. At Geneva’s Watches and Wonders, CEO Jean-Marc Pontroue said they worked with 10 different suppliers for the recycled materials of this concept watch, and that they are willing to share these names and the process with their peers.

Swatch’s Bioceramic Big Bold

Swatch’s Bioceramic Big Bold

Swatch’s Bioceramic Big Bold: This Swiss brand has a new style that blends ceramic with bio-sourced plastic from castor seeds. Beginning with five colours, the collection includes what Carlo Giordanetti, Swatch creative director and CEO of the Swatch Art Peace Hotel in Shanghai, calls “an optimistic light blue” and the pillars of design — black and white. The new material is flexible and resilient, he observed during the virtual launch. Expecting it to be popular among 22-35-year-olds, he is certain the collection will also appeal to women (even if the Big Bold gets its name for its striking 47 mm watchcase).

More from Giordanetti

Why isn’t this watch an automatic?

We would like the new material, Bioceramic, to be appreciated in full for its properties. It allows for the sharpest and most clean-cut design best celebrated by Big Bold – which is also the newest addition to the Swatch world. By the end of the year, all iconic product lines will include Bioceramic versions.

Swatch’s Bioceramic collection

Swatch’s Bioceramic collection

Can the straps be changed easily?

They don’t have changeable straps.

How is this size going down with women?

Since its launch, Big Bold has proven to be a unisex product – and we believe that with the seasonal choice of Bioceramic colours we will also appeal to those women whose taste, personality, sense of style and forward-thinking attitude drive their choices.

Carlo Giordanetti and Bernardo Tribolet

Carlo Giordanetti and Bernardo Tribolet

The colours are on point. But regular watch users today rely on basic features like a step counter or activity tracker. Was this a possibility?

The history of Swatch is written by analog watches whose construction is based on innovative micro-engineered injection moulding. Bioceramic allows us to introduce a unique and proprietary material and still be able to manufacture along the same system. Interactive watches belong to a different arena and would require a different kind of construction. But there will soon be SwatchPAY! (uses an NFC radio chip) styles in Bioceramic.

Launching globally on April 15 and at the end of the month in India. ₹9,605.

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