Besides manufacturing high-performance timepieces, Oris’s mission is to bring change for the better, through cleaning, protecting and restoring the world’s oceans by supporting pioneering non-profit organisations. The most recent one is The Oceans Project, which raises awareness and funds pioneering agencies with game-changing visions.
On top of that, Oris has partnered with Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC), funding vital researches and conservation projects for 30 years. WDC estimates that there were once around 350,000 blue whales in our oceans, but pre-industrial hunting has decimated the population and there are now between 10,000 and 25,000 left.
The WDC is working to conserve the blue whale by creating healthy seas and preventing deaths in nets, while being involved in projects all over the world looking to combat these threats. The charity works with local authorities and tour operators off the coast of Sri Lanka where whales are at risk of vessel strikes.
It also contributes to a research project on blue whales by the International Whaling Commission in the Antarctic Peninsula, where WDC scientists are part of a team there collecting vital information through visual surveys of photo IDs, video tracking and passive acoustic monitoring.
Oris also continues its mission to conserve water resources by partnering with the Lake Baikal Foundation, supporting a project based at Siberia’s vast freshwater lake, Lake Baikal — the world’s largest source of freshwater. 1,642 metres deep and holding 20 percent of freshwater reserves, scientists believe it is 25 million years old and it’s home to thousands of endemic plant and animal species, all under threat from man-made pollution.
Point No.1 is the historic scientific research centre that has been monitoring Lake Baikal’s freshwater reserves for 75 years. Run by the Scientific Research Institute of Biology at Irkutsk State University, and funded by the Lake Baikal Foundation and Oris, a team of seven scientists work at Point No.1 all-year round, collecting samples from the water in summer and from the ice in winter, with temperatures ranging from -21°C in winter to 11°C in summer.
These samples are then taken to a laboratory where they are filtered and processed. The scientists identify zooplankton and phytoplankton, and then record and process the data. From this, they observe patterns that help them monitor the lake’s health. Oris also contributes the proceeds of dedicated watch collections to each project or organisation to help continue on its mission to in bringing positive changes to Earth’s water resources.
The article was first published in the August Man Malaysia April 2020 issue
