The new Superocean II Outerknown isn’t entirely a surprise – Breitling did hint on their collaboration page that specific products sharing Outerknown’s mission would be on tap for release by the end of the year, but here’s to hoping there’s more in the pipeline. It might be a simple innovation, but it’s a long-overdue one – and in an industry filled with passive, feel-good ‘slacktivism’ as the standard for doing good, it’s great to see larger mouthpieces like Breitling and others starting to brand these types of initiatives in a meaningful way. Nearly three-quarters of a million tons of fishing nets and gear are abandoned in the ocean every year, some of which is up-cycled into cheap bracelets, sunglasses, skateboards, and other eco-friendly toys and home products, but this is the first time that we’ve seen recycled nets spun into a watch strap – particularly one from a luxury watch brand. It doesn’t look any worse than your regular woven NATO – and, if anything, it feels softer and nicer to touch and wear.Įven Breitling’s signature leather travel case gets the Outerknown treatment, shown here made from recycled materials. It is only once you take a real up-close look at it that you see the plasticky material that resembles the tough fishing nets are made from. But perhaps the best detail of the strap itself is that nothing about it gives away the fact that it’s recycled – it’s quite simply a comfortable, well-made, forward-thinking alternative with zero downsides that we’d love to see more of in the future. During a short wear period, our David (who shot these images at the launch event in London) found the recycled nylon strap itself to be surprisingly soft to the touch, and a welcome contrast to many of the overly stiff, thin, and abrasive NATO straps that seem to be e n vogue as of late (looking at you, Tudor). All three endeavors are admittedly a small philanthropical piece of a larger pie, but one where genuinely good intent appears to be at the heart of Breitling’s new ambassador structure.Īs mentioned, the Superocean II Outerknown builds on the variant introduced earlier this year, by adding a scratch-resistant black DLC coated stainless steel case and a dark blue sun-ray dial – both colors that are expressed in the striped nylon strap, branded with Outerknown’s “OK” logo above the 12:00 side of the case. Beyond the Outerknown collaboration, Breitling (along with Outerknown) is now supporting the Ocean Conservancy, and the brand’s “triathlon squad” just announced a partnership with Qhubeka – a South African charity that provides bicycles to impoverished communities. So it should come as little surprise that a watch collaboration with an apparel brand committed to sustainable manufacture would yield not only some kind of nod towards protection of natural resources but watch-specific accessories as well – and so here we are.īefore we get too deep into the watch itself, it’s interesting to see a brand move away from the traditional avenues of nautical partnerships (sailing, professional divers, etc.), and into the World Surf League – arguably uncharted territory for many Swiss watch brands, with only TAG Heuer springing to mind from recent years as a major brand tipping ints toe into the world of surfing. See, Slater co-founded Outerknown back in 2015 along with prolific menswear designer John Moore, and together, the two have created a menswear brand committed to ocean protection while using as many environmentally mindful manufacturing alternatives as possible – including recycled fishing nets and old nylon surplus to create products like flannel shirts, Levi’s jackets, and board shorts. Kelly Slater with fishing nets to be recycled into Outerknown textiles.
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