From September 13th to 17th, 2023, the Watches and Wonders high-end watch exhibition was held at the West Bund Art Center in Shanghai.
Amidst the current trend of sustainability in fashion and luxury, wristwatch brands are actively exploring the use of sustainable materials. At this year’s Shanghai watch exhibition, Ulysse Nardin and PANERAI presented sustainable watch straps made from materials like discarded fishing nets.
Ulysse Nardin
FREAK X OPS Fantasy Watch
Swiss watch brand Ulysse Nardin introduced the new FREAK X OPS Fantasy Watch exclusively for the 2023 “Watches and Wonders” Shanghai high-end watch exhibition.
The watch offers two strap options, with one of them being a black fabric strap crafted from recycled discarded fishing nets from the ocean.
Ulysse Nardin FREAK X OPS Fantasy Watch with a khaki green fabric strap
This isn’t the first time Ulysse Nardin has used sustainable materials in their watch straps. In October 2020, they innovatively utilized polyamide yarn entirely recycled from discarded fishing nets to create the world’s first 100% waterproof canvas strap.
The strap’s raw material supplier, JTTi, produces the yarn from 100% recycled fishing nets, and before yarn formation, a unique dyeing technique is used to achieve a uniform black color without the need for water during the processing. The strap is also intricately woven on the sides to effectively prevent wear and tear, making it durable.
These straps are suitable for 44mm and 42mm Diver dive watch series, dive chronograph watches, Marine Torpilleur navigator watches, and FREAK X fantasy watch series.
Recycled fishing nets used in the production of watch straps
PANERAI
New Luminor Due Series Prada Re-Nylon Watches
PANERAI collaborated with the Italian luxury brand Prada to introduce the new Luminor Due Series Prada Re-Nylon watches.
The straps of these watches are made from Prada Re-Nylon regenerated nylon material. This fabric is woven from 100% regenerated nylon yarn, ECONYL®, sourced from pre-consumer (50%) and post-consumer (50%) materials such as fishing nets, discarded nylon, carpets, and industrial waste.
There are four strap styles available, including iron gray and navy blue for 42mm watches, as well as light pink and cornflower blue-gray for 38mm watches. They are decorated with “Prada Re-Nylon” and “PANERAI” inscriptions using a heat transfer process, paying tribute to the creative collaboration of these two major brands.
The back of the strap adorned with the inscriptions “Prada Re-Nylon” and “PANERAI”
Nylon is Prada’s iconic material, representing the brand’s unique perspective on luxury and modern lifestyle for over 40 years. Since 2019, Prada has been collaborating with the Italian yarn group Aquafil, using their regenerated nylon yarn ECONYL® to create distinctive Re-Nylon fabrics, gradually applying them to various categories such as bags, clothing, accessories, and footwear.
ECONYL® regenerated nylon yarn was successfully developed by Aquafil in 2011, and it is entirely made from discarded plastic materials. It performs excellently like virgin nylon while reducing 90% of the global warming impact caused by petroleum-based nylon manufacturing.
| Image Credit: Provided by the brands, on-site photography by Luxe.CO, Ulysse Nardin official website
| Editor: Zhu Ruoyu
