By Harlan Chapman-Green
Every so often here at WristReview we come along an honest watch that’s got nothing to hide. A good example were the Bremont watches that I reviewed a while ago. Just a clean dial that doesn’t hide its true functions behind a veneer of sparkly bracelets or over-complex case designs. A design that’s very fitting to the type of owner that Oris envisions will purchase the piece. The thing I like about the watch the most is how each design touch is put there to suit someone. Even if it’s not going to please the masses, it still makes all the difference.
This group of people is most likely involved with the aviation industry. Be it a commercial or private pilot, a leader of the cabin crew or a personal engineer that’s employed in the upkeep of one or two aircraft and will travel with them as they soar through our skies. For them they’ll be able to make the most out of the blacked out, yellow tipped GMT hand that springs from the centre of the dial with the same enthusiasm of a rabbit at dawn.
The case is 45mm in diameter and has an industrial feel to it, partly thanks to the brushing on the case which will hide scratches gained from daily wear, but also the angled coin edging on the bezel, which makes the wearer imagine that they have a turbine strapped to their wrist. The dial of the watch is very legible as well. It doesn’t take on the all out instrument design that companies, particularly Bell and Ross are know for, but it does have big white hour indicators and large lume coated hands too, all in the name of aiding night time legibility. To aid this even further, Oris has applied an anti-reflective treatment onto the underside of the domed crystal.
The movement of the watch is on display behind a sapphire crystal in the caseback, it’s called the calibre 748 and is an automatic powered GMT movement developed by the company. Personally I feel it’s a little lacklustre there and although the red rotor is a nice touch, it’s simply too small for the 45mm case.
This watch is available on either a brown or black material strap with a thin amount of leather inside to aid in comfort. There’s also a black leather strap available or a pretty standard looking bracelet brushed bracelet.
This is a good watch. It’s simple yet solid and robust and that’s what Oris is very good at doing. Sometimes the more bread and butter type watches are actually hidden gems.
For more info, please visit oris.ch
Ref. No. 748 7710 4164 TS, Ø 45.00mm
· Oris automatic mechanical movement Cal. 748, based on SW 220-1, with 24h pointer hand for second time zone, date at 3 o’clock and small second at 9 o’clock
· Multi-piece stainless steel case with a matt satin-finish. Water resistance to 10 bar/100m
· Sapphire crystal domed on both sides and with anti-reflective coating inside
· Screwed case back with see-through crystal
· Screw-in stainless steel crown
· Black dial with printed Arabic numerals filled with Super-LumiNova®, same as hour and minute hands, black dial ring with 24 hours second time zone
· Green textile strap with stainless steel folding clasp. Also available with black textile strap, leather strap or stainless steel metal bracelet
· Swiss Retail Price CHF 2,100
HARLAN CHAPMAN-GREEN – CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
A keen bass guitar player, Harlan enjoys all the perks modern watchmaking technologies the industry has to offer. Although you might catch him sampling Omegas or the Rolex, Harlan loves all things haute horology, with his three favourite brands being A.Lange & Söhne, Breguet and Vacheron Constantin. He hopes to study timekeeping more in depth someday and will never be able to thank his father enough for introducing him to the industry. Read his articles here.
