Why the industry’s biggest watchmakers are hands-on brands

Rolex

Since 1976, Rolex, a non-profit organisation, has run its Awards for Enterprise, helping pioneers set up initiatives to “improve the world”. It also has its biennial Mentor and Protégé Awards, bringing young creatives together with established artists (including, currently, Spike Lee and Lin-Manuel Miranda). Under its Perpetual Planet banner, Rolex supports the National Geographic Society’s scientific research in extreme environments and also the marine biologist Dr Sylvia Earle, who works with Mission Blue to advocate for support for marine conservation “Hope Spots”. rolex.org

Omega

Since 2011, Omega has been a supporter of the non-profit Orbis International, which travels with its Flying Eye Hospital to the world’s most remote areas to treat avoidable blindness. The watchmaker’s latest timepiece to donate funds to the cause is the Speedmaster 38mm “Orbis” (£4,360), which features a teddy-bear stamped on the caseback – a reference to the fluffy toy that Omega also donates to every child who is treated by Orbis. omegawatches.com

Bremont

The British brand Bremont has released a men’s watch (from £7,995) in honour of Stephen Hawking, its caseback inlaid with wood from the scientist’s 18th-century desk. A percentage of the sale of each watch will go to the Stephen Hawking Foundation, which funds research in cosmology, astrophysics and fundamental particle physics at schools and universities; it also supports those suffering, as Hawking did, with motor neurone disease. There is also a limited run of 88 women’s watches (£7,995). bremont.com

Blancpain

Blancpain is supporting a mission by the marine biologist and photographer Laurent Ballesta to study the impact of the cessation of human activities such as tourism, sports and fishing on marine vertebrates and invertebrates in the French Mediterranean during 2020. It is financed in part by the proceeds from the sales of Blancpain’s BOC III pieces, and is part of a larger two-year project analysing the state of biodiversity in the Mediterranean. blancpain.com

Breguet 

Breguet is the main sponsor of the Race for Water Foundation’s Odyssey expedition. The foundation aims to highlight ocean pollution and to explore how plastic waste can be transformed and repurposed. Its vessel, Odyssey, powered by renewable energy (solar, wind and hydrogen), is travelling the world, running educational activities wherever it lands. Breguet’s most recent model to support the project is the Marine 5527 Chronograph (£48,900). breguet.com