ORIS Whale Shark LIMITED EDITION

Oris saving the oceans one dive watch (shark) at a time! 

Many a large Swiss (or Japanese for that matter) watch brand producing diver’s watches has finally taken it upon themselves to contribute in some way towards ocean conservation.

Oris is one such brand that has been doing their bit for several years now which is a good job because it’s only a matter of time before the oceans turn into a thick soup of micro plastics and other harmful man-made debris.

The only problem is that it is in fact already a soup of sorts for a diminishing wealth of marine life that feeds upon it. 

Filter feeders such as the majestic Whale Shark, the world’s largest, spottiest and friendliest shark species – well they’re cuddlier than Great Whites.

These gentle giants feed on plankton and small fish using a filtering technique. They can grow to more than 40 feet in length and can weigh over 20 tons. They’re predominately found in tropical waters, and are known to migrate to the continental shelf off the central west coast of Australia every spring. If left to a healthy life, they can live up to 70 years.

However according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the whale shark is endangered and the population is decreasing. 

In 2016, the IUCN made the stark announcement that the global population of whale sharks had halved over the previous 75 years.

The cause of this steep decline was owed to both legal and illegal fishing, entrapment in fishing gear, and collisions with boats. In other words, human activity is largely to blame. 

Oris ambassador and underwater photographer Gerardo del Villar, has been documenting whale sharks for more than 15 years.

The Oris Whale Shark Limited Edition is based on the Oris Aquis GMT diver’s watch and is limited to 2’016 pieces to mark the year of the IUCN’s landmark whale shark announcement. 

The new watch has been created as part of Oris’s mission to bring Change for the Better and to clean, restore and protect the world’s water.

Specifically, it’s made in support of the work of Oris ambassador Gerardo del Villar, an experienced explorer and photographer, who began photographing whale sharks more than 15 years ago. Special features of the watch include its dial which is in blue, with special engraved pattern inspired by Whale Shark skin as well as a special engraved Whale Shark design on the watch’s case-back. The new Oris Whale Shark Limited Edition watch has a Swiss MSRP of 2’800CHF and is available as of February 2021. Thoughts? As much as I absolutely love sharks (trust me I’m a bit obsessed), whale sharks included; I’m just not convinced that the dial pattern works that well – it’s certainly unique that’s for sure.

But I would have much preferred something a little safer like a silhouette or some sort of whale shark motif rather than this very bizarre looking skin representation – it’s just odd. What do you think?