Turtle brilliance! How we made the Atoll video

South London is a long way from Bali – in every sense of the word. But photographer, filmmaker and scuba diver Ash Embi has made easy work of swapping the grey skies of his home town for the azure seas and white beaches of this Indonesian island.

A few months back he contacted Christopher Ward pitching for work. Was there anything he could do for us? With the release of the C60 Atoll 300 – a watch inspired by the islands of the Indian Ocean – it happened that there was.

Two Atolls – one Reef Blue, the other Shark White – were shipped to Ash. And following direction from Christopher Ward’s creative team, Ash set about making a video that placed the Atolls in their natural environment: the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean. Now he tells us just how he shot such a beautiful campaign.

Hi Ash! Where did you do the shoot?
It was Gili Trawagan – a trio of tiny islands in Indonesia. Christopher Ward wanted lots of turquoise and deep oranges in the images, and it was easy to achieve this there. While the islands are little more than specks, they’re surrounded by reefs – which means an abundance of wildlife. There are lots of turtles – we did some drone shots of the model swimming and one came up to him as they’re used to humans. They’re not shy!

Anything scary?
There are lots of sharks in the area – but they’re white-tipped reef sharks, so not dangerous to humans! There are also tons of clown- and puffer fish. If you watch Finding Nemo, everything in the film is there.

“Christopher Ward wanted turquoise and deep oranges in the images”

What was your brief for shooting the watches?
I had to make sure we posed the models in a natural way, but with the watches in the right light. I used a long lens so it was clear that the watches were the focus of the picture. I’ve worked with the models before – they know what they’re doing.

Was it all plain sailing?
Not at all. It was really difficult to get images of the divers splashing into the water in their scuba gear. I was on the roof of the boat, shooting down at them, and had to focus on the watch – not easy at that distance. I felt sorry for the model, he had to take off the equipment and then put it back on again 15 times! It was a lot of work.

Is there a problem with ocean pollution around Indonesia?
Yes. I’m really concerned about the health of the reef. I used to live on Gili Trawnagan and there you’re forced to see the impact we’re having on the world. At certain times of the year, when the oceans currents change, the reefs become clogged up with plastic. In the rainy season, rubbish washes down into the ocean from the rivers and comes back up to the beach.

Why is this happening?
Indonesia is the second largest plastic polluter in the world after China. They have to live hand to mouth and only use single-use plastic, which they then throw into rivers. There are now initiatives trying to solve this problem – with hundreds of locals in Bali and Lombok that are educating everyone to be more environmentally friendly. Hopefully, they’ll make a difference.

Back to the shoot, how do you feel about it?
I’m really proud of it – there’s some drone footage of the islands that I really like. And the C60 Atoll 300 itself is beautiful – I’d 100-percent wear it. I’ve been shooting watches for years, but this is one of the few I genuinely love.