A New Watch Brand Says It’s ‘Circular Swiss Made’. The watches are outfitted with reconditioned ETA movements obtained from old stocks, which explains why the finishings might differ. Mr. Freudiger stated that the firm has cooperated with “start-ups that play an active role in ecological transition” for ancillary aspects such as straps and packaging.
The straps are supplied by Vegea, an Italian firm that creates vegan fabrics from the waste of wine leftover after vinification. The biodegradable packaging is manufactured from mycelium coupled with agricultural waste such as hemp, cork, and sawdust, and is supplied by the Magical Mushroom Company, based in the United Kingdom.
“You put it in your yard and it disappears in 45 days,” Mr. Freudiger explained.
ID intends to launch a range of biodegradable plant-based straps created by the London start-up Biophilica before the end of this year. Biophilica’s inventor, Mira Nameth, said she hadn’t considered working with watches until Mr. Depéry approached her on Instagram last year.
“At the time,” Ms. Nameth explained, “we were thinking about the leather products market: shoes, wallets, purses, belts.” “However, when they contacted us, it occurred to us that there probably aren’t that many sustainable solutions in the watch strap market.”
Customers may trade “circular coins” – each watch purchase comes with one coin — for a discount on services or modular replacements, such as new straps or dials, as part of the brand’s dedication to circularity. (A strap swap, for example, necessitates the exchange of two coins.)
“The objective is to motivate our community,” Mr. Freudiger explained, “to extend the life cycle of their watches.” “We don’t want to encourage consumption, so we’ll concentrate on the watch’s upkeep and adaptability.”
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