BY JOVAN KRSTEVSKI
Oris caused a stir in the world of horology when it announced its new innovative in-house caliber 400 last year. The first watch to be powered by the caliber 400 was a beautiful blue dial Aquis. And now Oris has decided to give its flagship 1000-meter dive watch, the Aquis Pro Date, the Caliber 400 upgrade.
The Oris Aquis Pro, as the name suggests, is a watch that has been designed to cater to the needs of saturation divers who work in extreme conditions hundreds of feet down below the surface of the water. A serious job like saturation diving needs serious equipment, and the first thing that you notice on the Aquis Pro in this regard is its large Black PVD coated Titanium case, that comes in at 49.5mm in diameter to make sure it sits comfortably on the wrist of a Diver wearing a wet suit. In addition to the dimension, special attention has been paid to the rotating bezel on top which plays a pivotal role in timing a dive. To ensure the safety of the diver, the Aquis Pro comes equipped with a patented rotation safety system, aka RSS. This mechanism helps the wearer adjust and lock the bezel in place to read the remaining time with absolute certainty. Furthermore, the bezel grip is made from rubber to make it easy to operate the bezel underwater with the gloves on. And finally, to offer extreme legibility, the diving scale on the ceramic bezel insert has been presented in white and yellow, two colors that are easily visible underwater.
The dial of the Aquis Pro Date sticks to the design DNA of the Aquis family. You get applied indices filled with white Superluminova for hours, a white printed minute track, and a date window at 6 that keeps the balance of the dial intact. The dial which is black with a matt finish is interesting in that it features a wave-like pattern that gives it a distinctive visual appeal when compared to other members of the Aquis family that generally come with sunburst dials.
While the overall design of the Aquis Pro Date looks familiar, its mechanical internals have been completely revised, moving from a Sellita based movement to the in-house Caliber 400. Featuring a more refined winding mechanism, highly antimagnetic components, and a power reserve of 120 hours, the Caliber 400 is a technically capable movement. And, for those of you, who are a little skeptical about the quality and performance of this movement, there is no need to worry, as Oris is offering a five-year warranty on all watches powered by the Caliber 400.
The Oris Aquis Pro Date Caliber 400 would come attached to a black rubber strap and would retail for CHF 4,200.
