Watch maker proves sustainability can be fashionable

April 20, 2022 · 0 Comments

By Mark Pavilons
Editor

Humans have been harnessing the sun’s power for millennia.
Watch-makers around the globe have incorporated solar power into their designs, with limited success.
Until now.
The Canadian Solios brand of watches boast understated elegance. They’re aesthetically pleasing without being fancy or loaded with unnecessary dials and hands.
Large markers and just two hands make every watch easy to read at just a mere glance.
In the past, solar-powered watches had a distinct off-white or yellow face, detracting from the overall appearance.
The Solios line has integrated the solar feature well, making it invisible to the eye. No one would know this is watch is powered by the sun.
It’s almost like keeping a really neat secret to yourself, smiling the whole time you’re wearing it.
Solios hasn’t merely raised the bar, they’ve created a whole new level.
All Solios watches have interchangeable straps, thanks to a small sliding button where it attaches to the case. Ingenious and very practical.
Their attention and consideration for the environment is not what you would expect from a watch company.
They want to drive positive change and with one of these on your wrist, you are, too.
Founders Samuel Leroux and Alexandre Desabrais discovered a unique material that wasn’t really used in fashion – silicone-based leather. This fabric was revolutionary, unlike vegan leathers that were commonly utilized in the fashion industry. It’s truly eco-friendly.
Most of the vegan leathers are quite harmful to the environment. The one used by Solios is made with silicone, a great alternative free of PU, PVC, phthalates, heavy metals, solvents, and toxic by-products.
“We’re here to prove that it is possible to be cruelty-free and sustainable. We also swap the usual rubber found inside the strap for cork.
“Our mesh strap is made with thick and ionic dyes, your watch won’t lose its shine over time. Our recycled stainless steel in 316L is known to be robust and last through time.”
There is so much going on here that you’re not just buying a watch. You’re “upcycling” in the coolest way.
Solios is adamant that sustainability can be elegant, timeless, trendy and event avant-garde.
“We also believe the journey to adopting a more sustainable lifestyle can be easy and fun.”
Their goal is to change mind sets and shift perspectives and to “empower those who care about tomorrow’s world.”
In just two years of existence, Solios became in 2020 the first ever (and still only) watch brand to obtain the B Corp certification.
It all started with a simple, yet ambitious vision.
Leroux and Desabrais embarked on a journey to find a business idea that would have a positive impact on the world we live in. They’re watch lovers at heart, and they spent a lot of time analysing the sector.
The solar technology was their “genesis” because it just makes sense. No more battery replacement, and no more “planned obsolescence.”
The company says their watches are “fighting the 1 billion watch batteries that will become obsolete this year alone.”
The battery life of the Solios watch is over 50 years! That’s approximately 25 times longer than a regular watch battery. It will take around 5 hours to fully recharge your watch under the sun. Its power reserve is roughly 6 months. It charges even under artificial light, simply place it under a lamp for 24 hours for a full recharge!
Every single factory working with Solios was hand-picked and has been visited on multiple occasions to make sure that would meet the highest standards of working conditions.
Solios works with partners from all over the world and they aim to continually improve their processes.
They work with technological experts in Japan, Hong Kong, Switzerland, with some of materials carefully sourced from China. The final assembly and quality-control is done in Montreal.
They’ve also developed a watch recycling program, where people can send back their old watches, from any brand.
Even their packaging is as sustainable as it gets. The Solios watch is shipped in a 100% (certified) recycled cardboard, locally sourced, using water-based ink, 100% recyclable, hand-made in Montreal. Even the watch “pillow” is an elegant cork.
For everyone at Solios, a sustainable economy represents the economy of the future, and the future that we envision uses innovation rather than animal-based, often cruelty-based, materials.
There’s more excitement on the horizon. The company is set to release the Solar Curve, to help mark their third anniversary.
The watch will have a curved case with a double-curved sapphire glass. Their infinity sapphire crystal glass is a wonder in durability and its incredible look will make heads turn.
The Curve is now available for pre-order.
For more, visit https://www.solioswatches.ca/collections/solar-powered-watches