Tom Ford's New Watch Is True Progress for the Luxury Market

Tom Ford knows luxury: in his time revamping Gucci and designing at Yves Saint Laurent before building his own brand, he's helped to define it. So now, it's with little surprise he is hoping to helping to expand that definition in the sustainable space.

The Tom Ford Ocean Plastic Timepiece is the first luxury watch with components made of 100 percent ocean plastic. With every $995 watch sold, the equivalent of 35 bottles of plastic waste is removed from our oceans.

"Our products are not meant to be thrown away; they are made to hold onto," Ford says. The West Coast-based designer is also the current chairman of the Council of Fashion Designers of America. "Our products are of the highest quality and are produced in factories where the workers enjoy excellent working conditions, benefits and holidays. Our products are timeless. Our customers hold onto our products for years and when they no longer want them, they go onto vintage resale shops where they often actually sell for more than their original prices. For every 1000 watches we produce and sell, we permanently remove and prevent 490 lbs of plastic waste from entering the ocean. I feel it is my responsibility as a designer to provide the customer with luxury pieces that last and endure"

The new watch, available for pre-order today, is sold in packaging also made from recycled material and Ford has extended his commitment by launching a new effort as well. Ford is partnering with 52HZ on The Tom Ford Plastic Innovation Prize which hopes to "result in at least one commercially-viable and sustainable alternative to non-recyclable single-use thin-film plastic to be awarded as determined by the judges." To accomplish this, there is a $1 million prize for a winner who can propose and execute an alternative that's scalable for mass production by 2025.

You can find your timepiece at TomFord.com.

A version of this piece was originally published in this year's Out100 issue, out on newsstands 12/1. The issue has four cover stars: Janelle Monae, Wilson Cruz, Joe Mantello, and Janaya Khan. To get your own copy directly, support queer media and subscribe -- or download yours for Amazon, Kindle, Nook, or Apple News +. The first-ever Out100 Symposium, titled "How Do We Come Back From This" will stream on Out Friday and is set to be hosted by Janaya Khan. The first-ever Out100 Virtual Honoree Induction Ceremony will be Saturday, November 21, 2020 at 8 p.m. EST. You can watch live on the Out100 Live landing page.

Photography by Luke Fontana
Modeled and styled by Benjamin Holtrop