It can be hard to explain why one design has power and value over another. How can it be that a millimetre here or a pen-flick there could have such a significant and lasting impact on a design’s relevance and longevity?

Oris Big Crown Bronze Pointer Date
Oris Big Crown Bronze Pointer Date

Oris’s Big Crown Pointer Date first entered the Oris collection in 1938, more than eight decades ago. Its creators made a watch for glove-wearing aviators – hence the oversized crown and clear Arabic-numeral dial – but they also made a beautiful object.

The New Oris Big Crown Bronze Pointer Date
Oris Big Crown Bronze Pointer Date

Beauty drives our decisions,” says Rolf Studer, Oris Joint Executive Officer. “In beauty we find attraction, love even, which drives us to invest. We buy what we love. With a watch, that’s particularly true. Most often, the heart rules the head.”

Top Best Bronze Watches
Oris Big Crown Bronze Pointer Date

The Big Crown Pointer Date’s continued relevance owes much to the original design. But it’s also a reflection of its role in Oris’s revival after the 1970s Quartz Crisis, and in the revival of the Swiss watch industry.

Oris Big Crown Bronze Pointer Date Dial
Oris Big Crown Bronze Pointer Date

The role of the Big Crown Pointer Date in Oris’s decision in the mid- to late 1980s to rebuild the company with only mechanical watches was critical,” continuesMr Studer. “It had a story, a purpose and an emotional value that the quartz-powered novelties of the day simply couldn’t compete with. It became an Oris signature and a symbol of the Swiss watch industry’s dramatic revival.”

Bronze patination
Bronze patination

Today, more than 30 years later, Oris is introducing the Big Crown Bronze Pointer Date. The bronze case and dial symbolise Oris’s industrial philosophy and the eternal value of a Swiss Made mechanical watch. The solid bronze dial is chemically treated and coated with a transparent matt lacquer to create a unique finish for every piece, another symbol, this time of the unique status of the watch’s design.

Oris’s Honorary Chairman Dr. Rolf Portmann
Oris’s Honorary Chairman Dr. Rolf Portmann

One of the men behind that decision in the 1980s, Dr Rolf Portmann, has just marked his 90th birthday.

Oris Big Crown Bronze Pointer Date Watch Review
Oris Big Crown Bronze Pointer Date

Oris Big Crown Bronze Pointer Date

Technical specifications:

This new version of Oris’s signature watch has a bronze case, bezel and crown, and a bronze dial that’s chemically treated for a finish that’s unique to every watch

·       Case: Multi-piece bronze case

·       Size: 40.00 mm (1.575 inches)

·       Dial: Bronze dial

·       Luminous material: Indices, numbers and hands printed with Super-LumiNova

·       Top glass: Sapphire, domed on both sides, anti-reflective coating inside

·       Case back: Stainless steel, screwed, see-through mineral glass

·       Operating devices: Bronze screw-in security crown

·       Strap: Brown chamois deer leather, bronze buckle

·       Water resistance: 5 bar

Movement:

·       Number: Oris 754

·       Functions: Centre hands for hours, minutes and seconds, date centre hand, instantaneous date, date corrector, fine timing device and stop-second

·       Winding: Automatic winding, bi-directionally rotating Red Rotor

·       Power Reserve: 38 hours

Vintage Oris Big Crown Bronze Pointer Date Case
Oris Big Crown Bronze Pointer Date

The price for the Oris Big Crown Bronze Pointer Date is CHF 1,900 and will available from December 2019.

For more information visit Oris Online.