Baselworld 2019: Introducing the Oris Clean Ocean Limited Edition

Take a look around you. Maybe you’re in your office, frantically refreshing your favorite watch website to take in all the new Basel releases. Is there a plastic water bottle at your side? Or perhaps you’re reading this on your smartphone. Does it have a plastic case to protect it from drops as you feverishly dial your AD to put your name in for your favorite new watch release? Chances are, you’re surrounded by plastic, and Oris has a particular concern about the damage it’s doing to our oceans. As Oris tells us, we can’t afford to be complacent on this issue much longer: the plastics that seep into our ocean water at the rate of one garbage truck per minute are making their way into the food supply of the fish you find in your hometown supermarket.

For 2019, Oris is continuing its conservation efforts and partnering with the Pacific Garbage Screening, an organization that is developing a floating platform designed to assist in the cleanup of the world’s oceans. To mark that partnership, Oris is bringing to market the Aquis-based Clean Ocean Limited Edition, the latest in a continuing series of watches meant to raise awareness on environmental issues important to Oris and their customers.

Oris Clean Ocean Limited Edition

Case Material: Stainless steel
Dial: Aqua Blue
Dimensions: 39.5mm
Crystal: Sapphire
Water resistance: 300 meters
Crown: Screw down
Movement: Oris 733 (Sellita SW200-1)
Strap/bracelet: Multi piece stainless steel bracelet
Price: $2,300
Expected release: June 2019

The Clean Ocean is a straightforward dive watch based on the familiar Aquis case shape and bracelet design. The dial layout will be familiar to fans of this line as well, with Super-LumiNova-filled indices and a date window at the 6:00 position. The Clean Ocean has a dramatic gradient blue dial, perhaps its most striking feature. To highlight Oris’s partnership with Pacific Garbage Screening, the case-back of the Clean Ocean showcases a medallion made from recycled plastic, and the watch box is made from environmentally friendly algae.

Oris is to be commended for making a genuine gesture toward heightening awareness of a problem that impacts all of us, and it’s nice to see a brand consistently working toward a dedicated goal. Watches, as we know, tell stories, and it’s a bonus when our chosen timepiece not only looks great and functions well, but reminds us all of something worthwhile. With the Aquis being a longstanding line from Oris, and the Clean Ocean doesn’t break new ground, but the handsome blue color-way and case-back insert make this one special. Oris