Reef Manta Ray, Manta alfredi, Dhiggaru Kandu, Ari Atoll, Maldives © Guy Stevens, Manta Trust 2015
We love watch brands that recognize and support conservation efforts that are vital to our changing world. Being at the ocean regularly makes me keenly aware of the beauty and benefit of the seas to mankind, and of our depletion of marine life. That’s why we are happy to witness the efforts of independent Swiss watch brand Carl F. Bucherer, which is working hard to support the preservation of a threatened species: the Manta Ray. With its new Limited Edition Patravi ScubaTec Manta Trust timepiece, with Manta Rays engraved on each, the brand is financing an entirely new scientific expedition to help protect the habitat of the Manta rays.
This August – we hope to bring you more information as the expedition nears – the Manta Trust, a UK-registered organization that Carl F. Bucherer supports with a portion of the proceeds from the sale of the new Patravi ScubaTec, will work with a team of underwater divers and scientists to gather information on the habitat in the Maldives of the Manta rays to help them develop protective environmental measures to preserve their marine ecosystems.
Carl F. Bucherer Patravi Scubatec Manta Trust watch is water resistant to 500 meters.
The survival of these beautiful and graceful Manta rays is being threatened by overfishing, and the Manta Trust is committed to protecting these sea creatures in more than 20 countries around the world. Carl F. Bucherer has supported this charity for several years, but the financing of this expedition is a special effort made by the Swiss brand.
The new limited-edition timepiece is the first one dedicated solely to the charity and it s efforts and a portion of the proceeds of the sales goes to the expedition. Just 188 unique (thanks to the individual, beautiful engravings) Patravi ScubaTec Manta Trust watches will be made. With a Manta ray depicted on the dial, the watch also features a caseback engraved with the pattern of a specific manta ray’s bottom side – as captured on camera underwater by Manta Trust CEO Guy Stevens and his team.
Each Manta Ray has its own stomach pattern. The purchaser of one of these watches can take the identification number of the manta ray that is engraved on the case back and use it as an access code to a website where he or she can bestow a name upon this individual manta ray.
The caseback of each Carl F. Bucherer Patravi ScubaTec Manta Trust watch is engraved with a manta ray, and the pattern found on one particular manta ray, that the owner of the watch can then go and name on a website.
As to the watch, the Patravi ScubaTec Manta Trust timepiece is water resistant to 500 meters and features a helium release valve. Luminescent hands and markers make for easy underwater readability.
“We are proud to be a partner of the Manta Trust. With the new Patravi ScubaTec Manta Trust edition, we are paying tribute to the admirable work of Guy Stevens and his team,” says Sascha Moeri, CEO of Carl F. Bucherer.
Reef Manta Ray, Manta alfredi, Feeding Over Reef, D’Arros Island, Amirantes, Seychelles © Guy Stevens, Manta Trust 2016.JPG
During the expedition, scientists will spend two weeks monitoring the manta ray population in the waters surrounding the Maldives to analyze their habitat use and feeding habits, and to monitor the planktonic prey on which the mantas feed. The project’s financing will enable the recorded data on more than 4,000 manta rays in the Maldives to be gathered using cutting-edge science, contributing significantly to research findings about how manta rays live and feed. This financing will also aid in the expansion of a database on these rays. We look forward to bringing you more information about this project soon.
