Oris Launches Aquis Date Kelp Forest Limited Edition

Oris has released the Aquis Date Kelp Forest Limited Edition, a stainless steel dive watch with a 41.5mm case and a distinctive textured green dial, available now and limited to 1,000 pieces. The launch brings attention to the decline of kelp forests, underwater habitats vital for marine life and global carbon absorption. The project was developed with Francis Pérez, an award-winning underwater photographer and Oris ambassador, who has spent over 25 years documenting marine ecosystems and has observed the pressures facing kelp forests from rising ocean temperatures and commercial harvesting.

The watch’s dial is the defining element, created using a 3D-printed process that produces a surface with shifting green and gold tones. This effect is meant to evoke the movement and color variations of kelp strands in underwater currents. Oris says each dial will display a slightly different mix of light gold-green highlights, a result of the printing technique. The gold outlines on the luminous hands and hour markers, paired with a lime-green minute track and matching text, extend the kelp motif across the dial.

The Aquis Date Kelp Forest Limited Edition retains the familiar structure and features of the Aquis line. The case measures 12.9mm thick and 49mm lug-to-lug, with brushed and polished surfaces. It’s equipped with a domed sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating on the inside, a screw-down crown flanked by guards, and a rotating bezel set with a green ceramic insert and a 60-minute scale. According to Oris, the caseback is solid and engraved with a kelp motif and the number of the limited edition.

Inside the case is the automatic Oris Calibre 733 movement, based on the Sellita SW200-1. It beats at 28,800 vibrations per hour and provides a 41-hour power reserve. The movement drives central hours, minutes, and hacking seconds hands, along with an instantaneous date display at 6 o’clock. The watch is fitted to a three-row stainless steel bracelet that combines brushed and polished finishes, secured with a folding clasp featuring quick-adjust and quick-change systems.

The case back isn’t only solid but also carries special artwork and engravings that reference the kelp forest theme, with each watch individually numbered as part of the limited run. The bracelet’s folding clasp allows for quick adjustments and can be swapped out easily, a detail that reflects the recent updates to the Aquis Date’s proportions and ergonomics. The domed sapphire crystal is treated with an internal anti-reflective coating to improve legibility underwater and in bright conditions. The lollipop section of the central seconds hand, as well as the hour markers and hands, are treated with Super-LumiNova for visibility in low light.

Oris has a history of tying its limited editions to environmental causes, with recent examples including the Bracenet Aquis and the Yangtze Jiangtun Limited Edition. In this case, the company points to research indicating that kelp forests along the coast of northwestern Spain have seen their area shrink by 58 percent in the last quarter century. By working with Francis Pérez, Oris aims to raise awareness of the loss of these ecosystems and their importance for marine biodiversity and carbon absorption.

The Aquis Date Kelp Forest Limited Edition is priced at $2,950 or CHF 2,450 and is available from October 2026. Only 1,000 individually numbered pieces will be produced. The magazine has also looked at how to choose a reliable mechanical tool watch.

The Kelp Forest Limited Edition continues Oris’s approach of using watch design to highlight environmental issues, sometimes contributing proceeds to organizations and sometimes, as with this edition, aiming to start conversations. The company’s earlier special editions, such as the Yangtze Jiangtun with its mother-of-pearl dial and the Bracenet Aquis with recycled fishing net material, have each taken a different approach to raising awareness. For this release, Oris has chosen to focus on the visual impact of the dial, using the 3D-printed texture and color shifts to reference the underwater world directly. The watch’s size and proportions, updated in recent years, are intended to make it comfortable for daily wear as well as for diving. Oris presented the Kelp Forest edition at WatchTime, where the dial’s iridescent surface and metallic sheen were noted as distinctive features. The company says the process ensures that no two dials are exactly alike. That gives each watch a unique appearance within the limited series.