Turning the hands of time

As fourth element celebrates the launch of its first dive watch, the Pelagic, the conversation on sustainability is as pertinent now as it was at the company’s inception.

Fourth Element was set up in reaction to a lack of effective technical dive gear on the market. As is often the case with those at the forefront of innovation, technological limitations prevented them from fully integrating sustainable materials at the time, and it wasn’t until 2014 that the tide turned. Becoming aware that there were groups of divers around the world voluntarily clearing nylon fishing net from wrecks and reefs, in an effort to improve the safety of the area for both divers and marine life and that there was an organisation behind this, taking some of that netting, recycling it and turning it into usable yarn called Econyl^® was a turning point. 

The yarn being produced from this rescued ghost gear was of a high enough grade to use in fourth element’s swimwear collection and so its OceanPositive range was born from a truly circular story: waste net removed by divers to be recycled into yarn, to be worn by those very men and women who had brought it up from the wrecks and reefs. “Since the swimwear, which really started it all,” comments Director Paul Strike, “our mission has become to think about how we can make each and every fourth element product with recycled or more
sustainable materials.”

The new Pelagic dive watch is a case in point. Packaged using only recycled materials (recycled PET) and FSC certified paper and card, this watch aligns with the company’s OceanPositive mission to use recycled and recyclable materials wherever possible and to build products to last. Named after the vast reaches of the open ocean, the Pelagic combines exceptional craftsmanship with high-specification engineering and is water resistant to 500m. 

Designed in the UK and hand-built in Switzerland the Pelagic ensures exacting timekeeping with an automatic mechanism, powered by a Swiss-made precision self-winding movement. It’s a watch suitable for the most extreme environments on Planet Earth, and was designed for durability and longevity, reducing the need for frequent replacements and so helping to minimise waste. The Pelagic is a watch to be passed down as an heirloom piece, further extending its lifespan and so reducing consumption, an element of sustainability that is often overlooked.

To order, visit:

www.enginehousemedia.co.uk/the-pelagic