Tom Ford Enters The Ocean Plastics Scene With New Automatic Diver

If you dive off the coast of so many beautiful places you’ll already know about the problem of ocean plastic first-hand. Bags, bottles, caps, bits of packaging; all ending up polluting the sea, , covering the seabed and destroying marine life. There’s around 14 million metric tonnes of the stuff floating around and it’s set to triple by 2040. Stack it all up on the beach and the pile would reach hundreds of feet in the air.  

OK, so a new watch made of recycled ocean plastic isn’t going to make much of a dent in that pile but it’s a start – and part of a movement that’s gathering pace. So whenever you check the time you can remind yourself you’re looking at 35 re-homed plastic bottles that have ended up doing some good.

The new Ocean Plastic Sport Timepiece (OPST for short) is Tom Ford’s second watch giving plastic a second life; you perhaps already know the Tom Ford Ocean Plastic Timepiece from early 2020. Similar to the original model, the material in the new watch case doesn’t contain any virgin plastics; only plastic that’s been fished out of the seas, compounded using solar energy and even transported carbon-neutrally. In fact, the source of the plastic in your watch is even traceable to the collection source. But this time, the movement inside the 43mm case is automatic. That makes this the first automatic watch made from 100% recycled ocean plastic.  

Mr. Ford is channeling his automotive namesake by offering the Ocean Plastic Sport Timepiece in any color you like as long as it’s either semi-matte black or, to be fair, he’s offering white too.  Things get a bit more interesting when it comes to straps. Here you get a choice of five woven bands, with black, white, yellow, blue and orange. The case has integral lugs, so swapping them is as simple as pulling one out of the lugs and weaving a new one in.

Your OPST should take a fair bit of abuse in use. Plastic cases are naturally shock-absorbing and the low mass means case weight won’t add extra momentum if you whack it on something.   The whole plot is waterproof too, to 10 ATM/ 330FT thanks to the screw-in crown and screwed stainless steel back. There’s a handy stainless steel rotating bezel with an ocean plastic insert  too. 

You won’t struggle to see this one at night – even with a black case. The contrast between the white numerals and the matte black dial is strong enough, but Super Luminova numerals and diamond cut white Super luminova painted hands make it almost bright enough to read by. The crystal is sapphire with anti-reflective coating on the top side.

We’re not 100% sure on the movement maker, but Ford used the Ronda R150 – an ETA2824-alike – in his 2019 002 range, so we’ll take the bet that this one’s the same. It’s a solid movement that fits well with the all-round rugged theme of the watch. We’d guess around a 40 hour power reserve and a beat rate of 28,800/4Hz on that basis.

Should you buy one? Well, $1,495 is quite the ask for a plastic-cased watch with a standard  movement. The whole thing is Swiss made – case and movement alike – which is a plus and the eco credentials are impeccable. Even the packaging is carbon neutral and recycled. If the wholly laudable use of recycled ocean plastic is your thing, it’ll make a lot of sense. Tom Ford.