NEW: Oris Aquis Date New York Harbor
Oris teams up with a pioneering non-profit working to restore New York Harbour’s once-lost oyster population
As one of the world’s largest natural harbours, New York Harbour has played a pivotal role in the history of New York City and its rise as a leading commercial, financial, and cultural hub.
But progress also has its drawbacks. Until 1972, with the introduction of the New York Clean Water Act, sewage and waste were actively dumped into New York Harbour, triggering the destruction of the ecosystem and all forms of aquatic life that called it home. Even today, the environmental crisis that is water pollution remains very real for the city and its residents.
Earlier this year, for example, it was reported that on any given day, there was a 50 per cent chance that sewage and rubbish from New York City made it unsafe to touch water along any of its shorelines. Nearly 20 billion gallons of untreated raw sewage and runoff bypass.
Oris, a keen advocate of environmental conservation and a ClimatePartner-certified carbon neutral company, is partnering up with the Billion Oyster Project. The non-profit was founded by Murray Fisher and Pete Malinowski in 2014, with the purpose of restoring one billion oysters to the city’s waterways by the year 2035.
Since then, the project has brought together tens of thousands of volunteers, students, schools, and restaurant partners to place oysters and build reefs. To date, around 75 million juvenile oysters have been introduced in 18 areas covering approximately 14.5 acres of New York Harbour. Even better news is that the oyster population is now self-sustaining.
But why oysters, you might ask? Well, their millions of discarded shells helped build New York City, literally.
New York Harbor comprises several islands, including Governors Island, Ellis Island, Liberty Island, and Robbins Reef, which are supported by a large underwater reef on the New Jersey side of the harbour.
As home to 220,000 acres of oyster reefs, the reef was historically one of the largest oyster beds in the world. It provided a staple for the diet of all classes both locally and regionally until the end of the 19th century, when the beds succumbed to pollution.
Environmentally speaking, oyster reefs are to the ocean what trees are to the forest. An adult oyster can filter as much as 50 gallons of water a day, while oyster colonies create ecosystems for other marine life, and form natural storm barriers.
To raise funds and awareness for the Billion Oyster Project, Oris has released the Aquis Date New York Harbor Limited Edition watch that comes standard with a sporty green rubber strap and a classic three-row link stainless steel bracelet.
Fittingly, the dial is crafted from green mother-of-pearl, in a nod to the iridescent sheen of the oyster shell, as well as the colours of the waters surrounding New York Harbour. A bonus is that the natural pattern of nacre makes every unit of this 2,000-piece release unique. Another poignant reference is the special engraving of three oyster shells on the caseback.
Apart from that, the Aquis Date New York Harbor retains all the key DNA of previous Aquis models, including the automatic calibre Oris 733 with 38 hours of power reserve and the 41.5mm stainless steel case with a unidirectional rotating bezel. It is worth noting that the latter is fully rendered in steel; hence, the usual coloured-ceramic insert is absent.
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