The idea was to design a fully functional waterman's watch made from materials of a secondary source. The finer point to the challenge was that acquiring our materials needed to have a direct effect on coastal conservation.
During several weeks of travel throughout the diverse coastline of Thailand in 2019, friends and family came together for an adventure that gave birth to this watch. Surrounded by the beautiful blue and constantly reminded of the challenges she faces to provide our world with life, we dedicated our debut watch collection in her honor - La Grande Mer [The Great Sea].
Along our way in and out of coastal towns and provinces we could not help but notice the amazing fishing culture this proud nation maintains. It's fleet of vintage boats made from local hardwoods and colored in bright, contrasting shades of paint is like music for your eyes as they dot the waterways and the harbors.
What we also found was marine waste - many, many meters of old fishing nets, piling up in places it had better not be. The more we asked our friends the more we realized it was a problem no one had a reason to solve.
So we decided to solve it; or at least offer a solution. We worked with a local marina staff to clean out their spent fishing nets. We got it out of the water, off the beach and out of their trash.
Our plan was to create a custom terrazzo material from this reclaimed fishing net. We would apply the same formed-resin design approaches used in making race car parts, sailboats and surfboards to repurpose the nets into a synthetic sea glass material. With a jewelry grade bio resin, we were able to balance a luster and finish that was both durable and sustainable. We named it "SeaGlass."
We paired the newly created terrazzo with our reclaimed bronze to create a bracelet that is full of bronze but light and performance friendly.
Here in San Diego, we are thankful to enjoy an unreal amount of sunsets that will stop you in your tracks with their beauty. La Grande Mer is meant to harness this energy. It's soft glow reminds us of our job in managing the balance in The Great Sea.
