By Harlan Chapman-Green
This is a great job you know. This is the second watch I’ve looked at that’s taken a classic design and brought it to the modern era. I’ve already covered a superb Longines Heritage 1967 chronograph, now though we take a look at Oris. Their displays in authorised retailers usually attract customer attention because of a large scale motorised automatic rotor (at least here in the UK anyway), demonstrating to customers that Oris watches use mainly mechanical movements.
This watch uses an Oris calibre 733 which is an automatic movement that provides power for a seconds hand, minute hand, hour hand and a date window that you’ll see at 6 O’clock on the dial. If you’d like a little more info I can tell you that this movement is based on a Sellita SW200 “off-the-shelf” movement that’s been modified for purpose. You can’t see that movement however because it’s behind a screw down caseback with a vintage Oris shield logo on it.
The dial of the watch is very 60s with both squared numbers and baton hour markers on it. All of the SuperLumiNova markers and the hands have been given their own vintage “Light Old Radium” type patina, similar to Omega. The deep black of the dial and huge markers really helps the legibility of the dial underwater, but the real feature that aids a diver is the unidirectional rotating bezel. This one has the standard 60 minute markings on it and is made of aluminium, it’s a little disappointing to not see any ceramic here, but the upside to this is that it won’t shatter and is cheaper to manufacture and replace when necessary.
The case of this watch is 40mm in diameter and is made of stainless steel. The 1965 version was made of brass that was then given a chromium plating to make it look like steel. The only downside to this would be when the chromium was worn off to reveal patches of brass showing. Also unlike the 1965 watch, the crystal on this model is made of sapphire crystal that’s been given an antireflective coating on both sides to aid in legibility. The original used a plexi crystal like you’d find on the Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch. What’s stayed the same is the crucial water resistance rating. This watch is water resistant to 100m, just like the old model.
This watch comes on a black rubber strap with a textile pattern embossed into it. You could always choose the NATO strap option if rubber isn’t your thing. This watch will retail for around $1800 when it’s officially released. For more info, please visit oris.ch
Harlan Chapman-Green – Contributing Editor
First introduced to horology with the Patek Philippe Calibre 89 by his father few years ago, Harlan enjoys his passion for fine horology. He prefers to spend his time in the boutiques of upmarket brands, trying out new pieces constantly. His preferred 3 brands are A. Lange & Söhne, Breguet and Vacheron Constantin. Although not much for the smaller brands, he still finds the complications intriguing and wishes to own one watch from each of his three favourites. Read his articles here.
