As activists around the developed world furiously try to impose their Marxist utopian visions on the rest of us, one target in their sights in consumerism itself. XR and many others want us to consume less – of everything; from meat to fast fashion, plastic to Swiss watches.
Those who disobey this edict can often find their companies being boycotted on Twitter, or other Woke spokespersons flaming them on mainstream media. Just look at the recent Amazon Black Friday protests in the UK and the coverage they get.
But one company in Switzerland is ahead of the curve when it comes to cancel culture, and they’re insuring their future – and the planet’s – to an extent, by using 100% recycled materials in their watches.
ID Geneve are using refurbished existing movements, rather than building brand new ones. They also make their cases from recycled steel. The straps are made from reclaimed grape press residue, which is a new one on us at NWC mag.
They even have a modular design, so some parts are inter-changeable, which makes service and repair easier and thus extends the lifespan of the product.
There is a lesson here for mass production quartz watch producers too; make it easier for people to repair your fashion watches, and cheaper, so they don’t all end up in landfill.
CIRCULAR ECONOMY NEEDS TO BE FOR EVERYONE, NOT JUST THE POOR
You have to hand it to ID, they are doing the circular economy thing to the next level. Maybe this is the future for many watch collectors? Recycle what you have, upgrade the watch with new recycled parts every few years, rather than acquire new watches?
Or perhaps new flagship luxury timepieces will be reserved for the tech/celeb/political elite, just like petrol supercars, jetset travel and the best healthcare already is?
At 3500 Swiss Francs (£2800 APPROX) this is not a cheap watch. There has to be a way of recycling Swiss watches that are inclusive to all, truly affordable, otherwise the consumer will do the maths and realise a new Tissot, Frederique Constant, Hamilton or Oris is a better choice than the ID Geneve, despite its obvious greener, 100% recycled, credentials.
If you look at what VinMov are doing in terms of recasing quality Swiss movements, then you can see there is a way of doing this. True, not every part is recycled, but with prices at under £300 mere mortals can afford to preserve some Swiss watchmaking heritage.
