The gas is tritium H3 which is an isotope of Hydrogen. It’s not a “glowing gas”, the light is generated by the reaction of the tritium gas with the luminous substance in the coating.

The LLT factory purchases the waste tritium from nuclear power stations and encapsulate it to our LLTs. A true upcycling of a waste product.

Tritium is an Isotope of Hydrogen which exists in our daily life We are surrounded by it in a high doses when we take an elevator, eat a Banana, or take an airplane. Compared to this, the amount of Tritium gas used in our LLT is insignificant so that there is no danger even if the watch is completely broken and all the tritium is inhaled. As a matter of fact, the amount of all LLTs of a watch, if inhaled, release less Tritium than when eating a Banana a day, and 100 times lower than when taking a long haul.

The manufacturer of the LLTs managed to invent a process to fully recycle our LLT tubes. In terms of sustainability, this is the best way how to handle materials: Reuse (tritium from the power plant) and Recycle (from the old LLTs).

PU or TPU means Polyurethan, frequently used in the higher level watch industry. Like other plastics, many polyurethane products can be recycled in various ways to remove them from the waste stream and to recapture the value inherent in the material. Most consumers are familiar with recycling plastic bottles and containers at curbside. Polyurethane recycling, on the other hand, usually happens elsewhere—on job sites, in industrial settings, during building demolition—and takes many forms, from relatively simple reuse to breaking down the material into its chemical constituents.

CarbonoxTM is a mix of PC (Polycarbonate) with at least 10% carbon powder. CarbonoxTM+ is a mix of PPS (Polyphenylensulfid) with at least 40% carbon fibers (long sticks).

Both CARBONOX and CARBONOX+ can be recycled and used for 2nd use of products.

Yes, stainless steel can also be recycled and is frequently be done. When we recycle watches, the stainless steel is being given back to recycling companies.

Many parts of a watch can be recycled, eg the movement, steel parts, certain plastic parts, dials. Our Group is a forerunner in this area as we want to return used parts as much as possible to recycling companies.

Watch recycling does not yet exist in the watch industry. The Mondaine Group has therefore taken the first step. And we are gradually work toward creating a closed circle with minimum waste, as a step towards “cradle to cradle”. We are most likely the world’s first watch company to offer free watch recycling in Switzerland since October 2019. Customers can send in the watches they no longer use. In our factory, they are then broken down into their individual parts and properly sent to recycling companies whenever possible. This means that many materials are being reused or recycled. The remarkable part is that in addition to watches from the Mondaine Group, also metal watches from other brandss are also accepted.

Since September 2020, the case and strap of a special Luminox model are made of 100 % ocean waste, after we carried out lab and wearing tests - a true upcycling. The material is collected in the world‘s oceans by the award-winning “Tide” company and processed into new plastic material. Local fishermen collect the plastic in Southeast Asia. They are specially trained and paid for this. In collaboration with the Swiss non-profit organization Jan & Oscar Foundation and the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the material is registered, washed and shredded. New products such as our watch cases and straps are made from the plastic obtained - a real upcycling.

Project Aware | www.projectaware.org

Project AWARE« is a global movement for ocean protection powered by a community of adventurers. With a mission to connect the passion for ocean adventure with the purpose of marine conservation, Project AWARE brings together a dedicated team of individuals around the world who share a passion for ocean protection and adventure to secure real and direct environmental victories. Project AWARE is a registered non-profit organization with offices in Australia, UK and USA.

Luminox is directly donating a portion of the retail price from each sale of its Bear Grylls X #tide watch – a timepiece made from 100% recycled materials - to Project Aware. In total, CHF 45,000 will be donated to Project Aware from the proceeds of the limited edition timepiece.

Yes, we are working on several projects. Stay tuned!

For all Luminox watches, evaluations are under way to improve packaging’s volume, weight, material, and gift worthiness. These improvements also have a positive impact on the transport to our customers and therefor on the entire CO2.

We largely avoid using leather, and 90% of all leathers are a side product of the food industry. We only buy that kind of straps from certified strap manufacturers who buys the leather from the “leather working group” only. Leather Working Group is an international, not-for-profit membership organization and responsible for the world’s largest leather sustainability program www.leatherworkinggroup.com. Our leather straps are dyed chlor free.

Luminox does not use diamonds or gold. Unlike most luxury watch manufacturers, Luminox is not at risk of coming into contact with the “blood diamonds” or “blood gold”. Luminox cares not only about the environment but also about the social responsibility.

Since 2020, the entire Mondaine Group has been one of the world’s first carbon-neutral watch brands! The Mondaine Group has been engaged in efforts to reduce its own carbon footprint for almost 50 years already – see our sustainability report. The installation of a large photovoltaic system at our Swiss factory in Solothurn in autumn 2019 has led to a reduction of up to 80% in greenhouse gas emissions resulting from power generation.Our goal is to constantly reduce our carbon footprint, reuse materials, and recycle as much as possible. Our leading position in sustainability will be further exploit in the coming years.

All printed paper (catalog, printer, necessary enclosures) is FSC certified, i.e. from sustainable and social forestry. More than five years ago the Mondaine Group switched over entirely to recycled paper for all instructions manuals, brochures and printer paper.

Bear Grylls

“It has been a real journey for me - because when I started out after the military and began filming adventures around the world it was more of a case of how the world is amazing and let’s go explore and push ourselves and see what we can do. But as time has gone on and as a team we have seen first-hand the devastation and the negative impact of climate change and garbage and plastic and how few true wildernesses are now left, it has been both heart breaking and shocking. Now the focus has definitely come off what we can get from the world to hopefully a more positive approach to protecting what we have. Why would we all not want to do all we can to protect wild places and wild life? This world is our only home at the moment, and the only one of its kind in the known universe where the eco balance has been made so perfectly to sustain life. Let’s not let life now destroy it. That’s all we want to put across. And it isn’t something any of us can do alone but we get smart and work together we can have such a positive impact. I know that. But it starts with showing the world as it really is, good and bad.”

Scott Cassell

Luminox shares Scott and his NGO’s concern for the viability of the oceans, so it has chosen to partner with Scott and his NGO, since 2009, by helping to fund his organization Undersea Voyager Project. Luminox accompanies him on every mission, on his wrist. Luminox also supports his work by selling special edition watches of which part of the proceedings are donated to Scott’s non-profit organizations. On Scott Cassell’s, André Bernheim, owner and member of the board of Mondaine Watch Ltd. says:

“Scott not only does an extraordinary job, protecting endangered sharks or removing ghost nets from the Ocean – he is also a man of high ideals and a fantastic person to work with”.