Introducing: Gyre SeaCleaner

Meanwhile, we all know what trouble disposed of plastic in our oceans causes. Much of this plastic – if not most – comes from lost and left behind fishing nets. The Gyre SeaCleaner is here to do something about that.

Gyre SeaCleaner – one watch at a time

The Gyre SeaCleaner is the world’s first sports watch made out of recycled ghost fishing nets from the Indian Ocean. The new brand focuses on raising awareness of the plastic soup problem and contributes to stopping the flow of plastic into the oceans and removing it. It works like this. Local fishers collect the fishing nets from the sea and deliver them to the recycler. They receive a fee for this, which means Gyre also contributes to the local economy. The nets are then cleaned and made into pellets for the watch case.

…beach clean-ups will be supported

As said, Gyre aims to raise awareness and will support this from the launch with concrete actions. For instance, beach clean-ups will be supported, and there will be participating in local programs that address the issue at its source. As well, Gyre will donate 5% from every sold watch to The Ocean Cleanup foundation.

Fishing nets left behind in the ocean

Background

All kinds of plastic are found in the world’s oceans, but fishing nets are among the biggest concerns. A recent survey done by The Ocean Cleanup, states that at least 46 percent of the plastic found in the ‘Great Pacific Garbage Patch’ –  a floating plastic gyre the size of France, Germany and Spain combined – is made up of fishing nets. A massive 640,000 tons of these ‘ghost fishing nets’ are left in the seas every year. This adds significantly to the pollution but also damages coral reefs and traps vast numbers of sea creatures.

One of the raw samples during the development

Development

Gyre is based in The Netherlands, where the assembly of the SeaCleaner watch takes place as well. The design of the watch was done in France, while the high-quality solar movement – no need for batteries – is of Japanese origin. Gyre’s principles are to cause a change, without compromising on style and comfort.

…the development encountered all kinds of problems

It took three years of development before the Gyre SeaCleaner is now finally finished. The recycled material had hardly been used yet, so the development encountered all kinds of problems. From a very fragile case to one that even partially dissolved in water. In the end, Gyre was happy that a suitable material could be found. The color of this recycled material proved to be black. Therefore the only possible way to make everything as sustainable as possible was maintaining a black watch case.

The result

The result of these many years of development is an attractive and high-quality watch. With its case size of 42 mm, it fits comfortably onto many wrists. While the sturdy case is made of recycled plastic, the case-back is durably produced in stainless steel.

…sustainability is key

While sustainability is key, a solar-powered movement is used, which doesn’t need batteries. Only 3 hours of light provides energy for the watch to run for six months. The 10 bar (100 meters) pressure rating is a good indication for the watch’s toughness. It means as well that the watch can be ideally used for sports, even swimming and snorkeling.

Last but not least is the use of a hardly scratchable sapphire crystal, which is anti-glare treated. It ensures that, even after many years of use, the Gyre SeaCleaner’s crystal remains bright and undamaged. The current strap is made out of recycled PET bottles, but Gyre is finishing the development of a strap made out of recycled fishing nets.

Pricing and availability

The regular price of the Gyre SeaCleaner will be €289. Certainly seen the effort of developing the material, and the positive result of using it, a very attractive price. And there will be a possibility to own the SeaCleaner for even less as Gyre offers (super) early bird discounts.

The crowdfunding on Kickstarter will start on Tuesday, May 5th, 2020. It will create a community that commits to cleaning the oceans and keeping them clean, one watch at a time.