Oris prides themselves on being a watch brand with an ecological conscience, often going above and beyond the mere platitudes we generally see from other brands. They even publish a yearly sustainability report, which provides transparency to every action and move they’ve taken in an attempt to be held accountable for their footprint. Everything from how they package their watches, to how their employees travel is taken into account. In this spirit, they are also quite collaborative, and have partnered with a variety of initiatives that share their zeal for protecting the planet. In 2022, Oris announced a partnership with the Billion Oyster Project operating in New York, and marked the occasion with a rather peculiar watch called the New York Harbor Limited Edition. Today, Oris is returning to this cause with the aptly named New York Harbor Limited Edition II.
The Billion Oyster Project was founded in 2014 with the goal of restoring a healthy, biodiverse New York harbor by restoring oyster reefs to the tune of, well, a billion oysters. New York’s waterways were once home to vast oyster reefs before dredging was done to accommodate larger ships traversing the riverways. The Billion Oyster Project is looking to restore those reefs, as the oysters themselves not only provide a water filtration system (one adult oyster can filter up to 50 gallons of water a day), but also foster a greater level of biodiversity, and create a natural storm barrier. There is also an important educational aspect to the work being done by the Billion Oyster Project, and to date, thanks to their efforts, 150 million live oysters have been restored.
Oris has been a partner of the Billion Oyster Project since 2022, and has even organized volunteer groups to help in their efforts. I was fortunate enough to be a part of one such outing that took us through the process of processing inbound oysters. To honor their work, and to provide proceeds, Oris released a special Aquis dubbed the New York Harbor Limited Edition with an oddly beautiful green mother of pearl dial. This week, we’re getting a part two in the form of the New York Harbor Limited Edition II, and this time they’ve chosen a bright teal mother of pearl dial that mimics the pearlescent quality of the oyster shell.
Like the original, the new NY Harbor LE II is based on the Aquis, utilizing a 43.5mm steel case with an integrated rubber strap or bracelet. It also gets the same steel bezel insert, and date at six o’clock courtesy of the Sellita SW-200-1 based caliber 733 at work inside. The watch gets an engraved caseback featuring the likeness of an oyster shell, so no view of the movement here. The watch is limited to 2,000 examples planned for production, with proceeds from the sales going to support the work that the Billion Oyster Project is doing.
Beyond the great work that this watch puts a spotlight on, the star of the watch itself remains the highly dynamic dial. Getting mother of pearl dials in rich colors like this just isn’t something we see all that often, and I think it’s worth appreciating here as it shows a different side of its personality. Additionally, the Aquis is a great platform on the wrist, especially with its newer trimmed out case. It’s an unusual approach for a dive watch, but that’s exactly what makes it so interesting. The New York Harbor Limited Edition II is priced at $3,000. Oris