This special episode of aBlogtoWatch Weekly is brought to you by Breitling and its Sustainability Mission Report. Earlier this year during Geneva Watch Days 2022, Rick and David got a chance to sit down with Aurelia Figueroa, the Global Head of Sustainability at Breitling to talk about the new Super Chronomat Origins series and Breitling’s industry-leading commitment to a more sustainable future.

While there is quite a lot of talk within the industry about recycled stainless steel, Breitling found that the actual impact of sourcing its steel alloys was relatively insignificant (less than 1%), while the impact of sourcing gold and diamonds was exponentially higher, despite the fact that these materials make up significantly less volume compared to the amount of stainless steel that the brand uses each year. The new Breitling Chronomat Origins is constructed from 100% fully traceable-to-the-origin gold that comes from ethical mines, along with completely sustainable lab-grown diamonds. Additionally, rather than being secretive to try to maintain a manufacturing advantage, Breitling embraces a model of complete supply chain transparency with the Chronomat Origins series and openly discloses its various suppliers as a way to cultivate more sustainable production within both the watch industry and beyond.

During the conversation, Aurelia offers some insight on some of the things that Breitling has recently been doing to promote a more sustainable future, such as the transition to 100% renewable energy and biogas, plus a commitment to producing zero plastic waste. Additionally, she also sheds some light on the brand’s plans to be using 100% ethically sourced, traceable to the origin gold by 2025 and 100% sustainable and fully traceable lab-grown diamonds by 2024. Actions always speak louder than words, and Breitling is actively taking steps towards a completely sustainable production process, with the latest tangible results being the new Super Chronomat Automatic 38 Origins watch that is made entirely from gold and diamonds that are all ethically sourced and fully traceable to their respective sustainable origins.