IntroducingThe Oris New York Harbor Limited Edition II (Live Pics)

If this is your first time hearing about this organization, I'd highly recommend you read more about it, especially if you're a New Yorker. It's an organization that does its work very close to home, and more often than not, Swiss watchmaker collaborations with non-profits usually tend to look for organizations a bit more foreign. But if you need a quick refresher, the project, founded in 2014, is determined to restore a billion oysters back into the New York Harbor. That might seem like a daunting task, but the project has restored 150 million oysters to date, all thanks to volunteers and students who help with the program. In addition, if you're ever curious about where those oyster shells go after you're finished slurping them up in the city, the Billion Oyster Project has also recycled over 2.9 million pounds of oyster shells from local restaurants that they use to help newly bred oyster larvae find a place to set and grow.

But the question remains: why oysters? Well, they are powerful little guys, with each oyster able to filter up to 50 gallons of water per day. Once you do the math with the goal of a billion oysters, you realize that just oysters alone would make a huge impact on the health and cleanliness of New York's waterways, not to mention the benefits of an oyster reef to the water's biodiversity.

Partnerships like this are very much in line with Oris' very publicized goal of being the leader in sustainability efforts in the Swiss watch industry. On the corporate side, they became climate neutral in 2021 and accomplished a three-year plan to reduce emissions by 10 percent annually. When it comes to watches, they've also partnered with quite a few initiatives around reuse and recycling, such as its Aquis Upcycle and Aquis Bracenet. Oris is very real in recognizing that watches like these aren't necessarily moving the needle on an actual material impact, given the size of a dial, but see them as conversation starters to propel dialogue out there in the "wild."

But anyway, back to the watch itself. The New York Harbor Limited Edition II follows up on the first green-dialed 41.5mm edition with an upsized 43mm version, this time with a mother-of-pearl dial in what the brand calls "Aqua Green." I'm not sure I agree with the color description, as it leans so much more towards "Aqua" than it does "Green," but I'll let it slide. The 43.5mm case has a thickness of 13.1mm, as well as a lug-to-lug of 51mm. The distinctive negative-relief bezel in stainless steel is present, as well as a solid caseback with a very nice engraving and the watch's individual number out of 2000 total pieces. Inside the watch is the Sellita SW200-based Oris Caliber 733, and this new edition comes on a steel bracelet with an additional color-matched rubber strap and deployant buckle.

The Oris New York Harbor Limited Edition II is available now, and is priced at $3000 with proceeds going towards the Billion Oyster Project's reef building, shell collection, and educational outreach efforts.

There are many things I like in life, but two of them are both the original New York Harbor edition, as well as the Billion Oyster Project itself. I was fortunate enough to volunteer with the Billion Oyster Project two years ago with Oris, and it was really eye-opening stuff. Like I mentioned above, you might not think about initiatives like this project happening so close to home, but when it does, it feels exciting. We spent an entire day shoveling and cleaning mountains of used oyster shells, and those mountains would continue to age in the open for a year until all of the organic matter had decomposed. Then, after further cleaning, they'd be ready to be used as a new home for baby oysters.

I also loved the watch, with the uniquely colored mother-of-pearl dial very striking in person. This new version is no different, with a much bluer coloring that I suspect will appeal to more people than the unconventional green from the first. If the first edition's shade of green was chosen to recall the polluted water of the Hudson River, this new fresh colorway certainly represents the project's significant progress in helping make the water cleaner and healthier.

What is surprising to me is the brand's decision to upscale this new version to the larger 43.5mm case. Sure, the Aquis case design means that the 43.5mm measurement wears smaller than it might suggest on the wrist, but it's by no means a small case. With the first edition selling out of all 2000 pieces for a good cause, I have a hunch that this edition should do just as well. It's a cool story for a cool watch, and leaves the prominent commemorative branding on the caseback to keep it a subtle design for all other occasions when you're not shoveling oyster shells on Governor's Island.

Brand: Oris
Model: Aquis Date
Reference Number: 733 7789 4187 07-Set

Diameter: 43.5mm
Thickness: 13.1mm
Case Material: Stainless steel
Dial Color: Aqua Green
Indexes: Applied
Lume: Yes, Super-LumiNova
Water Resistance: 300m
Strap/Bracelet: Steel bracelet and additional rubber strap with deployant clasp

Caliber: Oris Caliber 733 (high grade Sellita SW200 base)
Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds, date
Power Reserve: 41 hours
Winding: Automatic
Frequency: 28,800 VpH
Jewels: 26
Chronometer Certified: No

Price: $3000
Availability: Now
Limited Edition: Yes, 2000 pieces, individually numbered. 

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