IWC Sponsers Plastiki

If you happen to sail in the northern pacific, you might find yourself most alarmed when peering over the bow of your vessel. You will find something quite different from the marine life you expected, even though you are some 500 miles off the coast of California, and not a human in sight. You will find a massive "plastic soup", and this "soup" is getting denser by the day. The "soup", twice the size of continental U.S.A is made up of small pieces of plastic derived from 2.5 percent of all plastic ever manufactured since 1950. 100 million tons of it! The ocean currents in the Northern Pacific herd the plastic into a large patch, that ,if we are not careful, will double in a couple of years. If that! Plastic is not biodegradable. It does not disintegrate and does not benefit the food chain, it is actual detrimental, to such an extent that bird skeletons have been found filled to the brim with lighters, brittle plastic pellets and plastic bottle caps. The plastic photo degrades which means, the plastic becomes brittle and breaks up into smaller and smaller pieces, in addition plastic absorbs toxins which may be consumed by fish and end up on our dinner table.

So what can we do about this alarming "plastic soup" discovered in 1997 by Charles Moore? First and foremost is knowledge. Knowing we have a problem, and then once established, we can make an effort to minimise the use of and recycle plastic.

I bet you are wondering what our discussion of "plastic soup" has to do with luxury watches. Good question!
IWC Schaffhausen, luxury watch company known for its collection of Pilot and Portuguese watches concerned about the dwindling resources on our planet. IWC has partnered with a dedicated environmentalist, adventurer and developer of Adventure Ecology, David De Rothschild, on an endeavour to spread the word about global sustainable issues.

Knowing the world gets bored easily and a remarkable adventure is required to spark the interest of a jaded audience, David de Rothschild has come up with a brilliant plan. He is currently building Plastiki on San Fransisco Bay Pier 31. Plastiki is a 60 foot sea vessel or raft made entirely out of plastic soda bottles and other recycled materials. de Rothschild plans to navigate his vessel from San Fransisco to Sydney, over the great undulating waves of our very own "plastic soup".

The journey will begin any day now, as the final touches are being made to the "soda bottle boat."


In honor of this great expedition IWC is releasing a limited edition Ingenieur Automatic Mission Earth Edition "Adventure Ecology" Watch. The commemoration of the mission will be engraved on the back of the watch. The 46mm steel watch houses an in house 80110 calibre automatic movement. David de Rothschild will wear the IWC Ingenieur throughout his voyage.

Bon Voyage!