Oris Brings the Aquis Date Into the Kelp Forest

Oris has returned to familiar waters with a new Aquis that puts an overlooked marine ecosystem at the centre of the design.

The Aquis Date Kelp Forest Limited Edition is a 1,000-piece dive watch inspired by giant kelp forests, created with underwater photographer and long-time Oris ambassador Francis Pérez.

It’s a straightforward proposition on paper, but the watch carries a sharper point than its colourway first suggests.

At a glance

• Oris has introduced the Aquis Date Kelp Forest Limited Edition, a 1,000-piece dive watch linked to marine conservation.
• The watch features a 41.50 mm stainless steel case, a green ceramic bezel and a textured ocean-green dial made with a 3D-printed finish.
• Priced at CHF 2,450, €2,450 or US$2,950, it continues Oris’s focus on ocean-related environmental initiatives.

A dive watch with a conservation brief

Kelp forests are among the ocean’s most vital habitats, forming dense underwater ecosystems in temperate and cold waters around the world.

They provide food and shelter for fish, invertebrates and marine mammals, while also absorbing carbon and supporting the ocean’s role in climate regulation.

They’re also under pressure from rising sea temperatures and commercial harvesting.

Pérez, who has spent more than 25 years photographing the underwater world, has witnessed the decline of kelp forests and encouraged Oris to bring wider attention to the issue through a dedicated watch.

That context matters because this isn’t simply a green-dial variant of an existing sports watch.

It uses the accessible, familiar shape of the Aquis Date to point toward an ecosystem that’s less visible than coral reefs but no less important to marine life.

The dial does the storytelling

The most distinctive element is the ocean-green dial, which uses a textured 3D-printed finish to evoke kelp moving through underwater currents.

Its mix of green and golden tones is designed to shift with the light, giving the watch a more organic surface than a conventional sunburst or lacquer dial.

Golden outlines on the hands and applied hour markers tie into that palette, while Super-LumiNova keeps the watch readable in low light.

The date window sits at 6 o’clock, keeping the dial’s symmetry largely intact.

Above it, Oris uses a domed sapphire crystal that is curved on both sides and treated with anti-reflective coating on the inside.

The case back is screw-secured stainless steel and carries special kelp forest-inspired engravings, along with limited-edition identification.

Aquis proportions and practical dive-watch hardware

The watch is based on the Aquis Date 41.50 mm, so the architecture will be familiar to anyone who knows Oris’s modern dive-watch line.

The multi-piece stainless steel case measures 41.50 mm across, 12.90 mm thick and 49 mm from lug to lug.

A unidirectional rotating bezel with a green ceramic insert frames the dial, with a minutes scale for dive timing and everyday timing duties.

The screw-in stainless steel security crown is protected by crown shoulders and helps deliver water resistance of 30 bar, equal to 300 metres or 1,000 feet.

Inside is the automatic Oris Calibre 733-1, a Swiss-made movement offering central hours, minutes and seconds, an instantaneous date, a date corrector, fine timing adjustment and stop-seconds.

It runs at 28,800 vibrations per hour, or 4 Hz, and provides a 41-hour power reserve.

The bracelet is a multi-piece stainless steel three-link design with alternating brushed and polished surfaces.

It uses a folding clasp with quick-adjust and quick-change systems, making bracelet sizing and removal more convenient.

Details & Specifications

The Aquis Date Kelp Forest Limited Edition is likely to appeal to collectors who want their dive watches robust, wearable and tied to a purpose beyond the dial colour.

It keeps the Aquis formula intact, but gives it a specific environmental focus and a dial treatment that makes the conservation message visible every time it catches the light.