Rolex honors heritage of exploration with African 'Perpetual Planet' expedition
January 31, 2023
Perpetual Planet
Since 2019, Rolex has been embracing that changing landscape of exploration through its Perpetual Planet initiative, supporting the work of exploring conservationists.
Part of this project involves the work of Rolex Awards for Enterprise winners, who work to protect the livability of the planet and the welfare of people. Rolex is also working with the National Geographic Society, collecting data in the fight against climate change.
Dr. Boyes is a National Geographic Explorer, leading one of the Great Spine of Africa expeditions along over 500 miles of the Lungwevungu River.
The river is a tributary water source of the Zambezi River, which is vital to 20 million people and an inordinate amount of plants and animals, supporting Angola, Zambia, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique.
The Great Spine of Africa Expeditions: Lungwevungu River – Ep. 2
Traversing the highlands of Angola to the border of Zambia, the team is collecting measurements and data on their journey. With his Rolex watch and team in tow, he is floating in dug-out “mekoro” canoes and camping along the river, documenting the data.
“It’s almost biblical,” said Dr. Boyes in a statement.
“During the day you are constantly stung, and at night beetles, flying ants and moths fill the air,” he said. “It’s a very difficult place to do science, to live, to do anything.”
Despite its importance, much of the Zambezi’s tributaries and life cycles is a mystery to scientists, making this expedition key in building local climate resilience. Being the birthplace of the Zambezi, the Lungwevungu is a key point in these conservation efforts.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="465"] Dr. Boyes takes measurements along the river, wearing his water-resistant watch. Image credit: Rolex[/caption]
The other expeditions taking place in the Spine of Africa will explore the Congo, Niger and Nile rivers– all just as important to 400 million Africans. Like this Lungwevungu expedition, much of the data collected is being sourced from places never studied by scientists before.
“If it’s measurable, we are absolutely going to measure it,” said Dr. Boyes in a statement.
“It is incredibly important for us to be able to measure change over time, to be able to pick up limits of acceptable change, then take those to the government and say that we need to change policy.”
Nature of luxury
Rolex is not alone in this undertaking of scientific exploration.
De Beers recently supported National Geographic’s conservation efforts in the Okavango Delta ( see story ).
In the podcast, the women discuss what true female liberation looks like, and come to the agreement that it revolves around the idea of choice; agency.
Gucci has long been a proponent of choice, standing by women in the United States as their right to reproductive freedom has been continually threatened in recent years.
The brand not only released items that supported abortion rights and gave statements confirming their support of it alongside other luxury brands, but decided to go a step further and provide financial aid to employees who would have to travel out-of-state in order to receive care in the face of the unconstitutional bans ( see story ).
Since 2020, the brand has been bolstering its many gender equality efforts with environmental initiatives, launching a more in-depth and transparent version of Gucci Equilibrium that summer ( see story ). Gucci has since released a slew of programs and advancements in terms of sustainability – something that was highlighted this week with the release of the podcast episode.
Gucci's vision of a modern, responsible and circular luxury is elevated throughout the design process. The House has been transforming its supply chain, from how and where raw materials are sourced for its collections, to the efficient and innovative processes used to make them. pic.twitter.com/mf0MYycPYZ
— Gucci Equilibrium (@ggequilibrium) March 20, 2023
As waste becomes even more of a global crisis, Gucci has especially been homing in on circular models, looking to the method in order to boost the company’s sustainability and achieve targeted green goals.
The brand has partnered with Vestiare Collective to provide preloved options for consumers, pushed product care and repair programs, embraced vintage, began using discarded pieces to create new ones, prioritized regenerative agricultural sources, increased recycled materials and among other things, has recently released the Circular Hub – Italy’s first platform dedicated