Five Big Steps Towards Sustainability

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Five Big Steps Towards Sustainability - Breitling
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Breitling introduces an ambitious sustainability agenda to 2025 and a gorgeous new collection to go with it.

It was in a hotel ballroom during Geneva Watch Days that the world’s press sat down to discover Breitling’s new Origins Collection and its latest sustainability news. Honestly, I was half expecting a range of new vegan straps and perhaps some recycled steel, but what I was to witness was a serious program for change that matches with the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and marks a new level of commitment in the luxury watch industry. So, let’s take a look at the plan. 

Step 1 – Better Gold

When it comes to the circular economy, wristwatches are extremely sustainable. Firstly, they are well made and last for years, and secondly, they can be repaired, resold, and re-loved over and over. And lastly, for the most part, they are produced in state-of-the-art, eco-responsible buildings that recycle all their waste. But there is a dark side to the industry, and that comes from the precious raw materials that come into play in the fabrication of a wristwatch in the form of gold and/or gemstones. 

Five Big Steps Towards Sustainability

One way to avoid this could be to stop producing gold watches altogether, or only use recycled gold, but this could actually create more problems for the planet and its people. Over 20 million individuals are working in the gold mining industry, most of whom are part of artisanal and small-scale mining operations. If demand drops, this could be detrimental to their financial well-being. 

One solution – and the one that Breitling has chosen – is to work towards “Better Gold”. This initiative is to work with the miners to extract gold in a sustainable way by reducing air and water pollution, replanting trees, protecting wildlife, and so forth. But it isn’t only about protecting the planet, Better Gold is also committed to providing safe working conditions to paying a legal wage, and to supporting the education of local children, and more. 

Step 2 – Lab-Grown Diamonds

The next step in Breitling’s programme is the use of lab-grown diamonds. As the majority of melée diamonds (the tiny mixed diamonds that are used to set watches) are impossible to trace, Breitling has decided to use lab-grown diamonds instead. There is some controversy over these kinds of diamonds as it takes huge amounts of energy to produce them. For Breitling, they have made a point to work with producers that are climate neutral and/or transitioning towards renewable energy or using low-carbon energy sources. 

Five Big Steps Towards Sustainability

 Step 3 – The Diamond Support Fund

As is the case with the gold miners, the diamond miners could also be under threat if supply drops drastically. For this reason, Breitling has set up its Diamond Support Fund that makes a contribution to a social impact fund in diamond-producing communities for each carat sold, until these melée diamonds can be properly traced. 

Step 4 – Blockchain and NFTs

Thanks to blockchain technology, all new Breitling Super Chronomat 38 Origins timepieces will be issued with an NFT that follows the watch’s components from the mine to the finished piece. Each step of the way is independently verified to ensure that the whole watchmaking process can be traceable. 

Five Big Steps Towards Sustainability

Step 5 – Countdown to 2025

For the moment, it is only this new Breitling Super Chronomat 38 that will feature all these sustainable criteria, but the objective is to roll them out to the entire Breitling collection by the year 2025. 

Let’s hope this is the start of a new movement that will see other brands join the cause over the coming months because time is something that we are fast running out of when it comes to protecting the planet and its people. 

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