Of course in the first case the scam doesn't cause lung cancer like the latter so not sure it is equivalent.  And while companies certainly have a lot of marketing gimmicks, and the watch world is not immune, I'm not sure what evidence you have that the folks at Oris could care less about the NY harbor and just put the watch together to scam potential customers.  IDK... maybe the real reason is that it is a niche that they would like to play a small part of because they, you know, actually care...

Laughable?  A company like Oris does have to weigh how big a hit to their profits to take support and promote a cause, but the fact that they are doing something should count beyond laughable (unless you want to be cynical and think it is a straight marketing ploy and they could care less about the environment, or Farer about their specific causes).  

Completely agree that whether you wear your Vostoks impacts the support or outcome of the war has no impact, but my question is does it matter to you?  Do you look at them differently now - would reconsider buying another?  That is what I was wondering about.  Maybe it ultimately is about virtue signaling via watches, but watches serve as an important signal for all sorts of things already.  Just wondering how far it extends...

That last one was on my mind when I posted this.  I have a Horizon diver from a guy who is in Ukraine - supported his kickstarter because I liked the watch and his connection with Zelos, but then the war hit and I have valued the watch and my support of him even more.  And I'll have a hard time picking up a Russian watch these days...

That summed up well what drove me to pose the question.  Wanted to frame it w/out diving into politics and issues that have been politicized, but increasingly I've been valuing good cause connections more than I used to.  The watch itself must appeal to me, but this added bonus is becoming more significant...

I share the lane you are in - it may impact me at the margin with a few exceptions.  I bought a watch from an upstart in Ukraine before the war started because of the design and value proposition - and a tie to a book I really love - but now I find myself valuing the watch even more and want to support his next creation.

Yeah likely meaningful impact is small so then - if you care about the root cause - it becomes about a signal value.  People certainly use watches to signal all sorts of things (wealth, class, taste, seriousness...) and perhaps signaling that you care about a certain cause also could happen.  But watches may not be a terribly good way to signal that...

Thanks - I feel the same.  If there is a historical connection with something I care about (motor racing) then that would certainly impact my choices.