Oris Unveils Big Crown X Cervo Volante Watches With Sustainable Deer Leather Straps

Swiss watch brand Oris has long been known as a champion of causes. From men’s health to the world health, this brand is all about giving back to the environment and supporting grassroots organizations in need. It has also turned, on a regular basis, to sustainable materials where possible. Now, with its newest Big Crown Pointer Date mechanical watch the brand teams with Swiss deer leather manufacturer Cervo Volante, which uses sustainable deer leather that is sourced without breeding or factor farming.

Another upshot to the sustainable deer leather is that, according to Cervo Volante, there is no over-fertilization of meadows and no climate impact because of the sourcing and use of deer skins. For Oris, whose marketing campaign is all about “Change for the Better,” the relationship makes great sense. 

In Switzerland, as in many other countries around the world, the deer population can become expansive, calling for the need to legally manage deer numbers via hunting. It is a sad truth for those opposed to hunting, but a necessary call to protect certain environments. Every year, approximately 15,000 wild red deer in Switzerland are eliminated for these reasons, typically with no use made of the by-products (making the culling even sadder). 

Then, in 2017, two entrepreneurs – one specializing in nature protection and wildlife management – founded Cero Volante. The concept: transform the deer skins from that culling into sustainable hand-crafted leather goods such as footwear and accessories using traditional vegetable tanning methods and low-impact processes. 

The newest 38mm Big Crown Pointer Date watches created for this collaboration boast wonderful gradient dial colors inspired by the Swiss Alps (gray, ice blue and meadow green) and house mechanical movements, which, in and of themselves are considered sustainable as they can be serviced and last for generations. The new timepieces boast deer leather straps and are sold in a pouch of the same materials.

The watches feature luminous indexes, numbers and hands (including the pointer hand that tracks the date on an outer track on the dial), as well as sapphire crystal and case back that allows for viewing of the Oris 754 automatic winding movement. The deer straps are offered in dark brown, oak brown or cognac color and feature a quick-change system. They retail for $2,000. 

Oris has been working with sustainable and environmental agencies for more than a decade, with current involvements including the Coral Restoration Foundation and supporting causes such as studying Lake Baikal and helping preserve the UNESCO World Heritage Site Common Wadden Sea Secretairat. The brand, with headquarters in Holstein, Switzerland, has also been certified as a climate neutral company by Climate Partner and is dedicated to reducing emissions and improving the efficiency of its supply chain.