Introducing the Oris Big Crown Pointer Date: The Overall Overview

With a variety of new models, including updates to their dive watches --Diver Sixty-Five line--, a new Carl Brashear LE, a new Caliber 114 internals, and several new Aquis models, you'd be forgiven for missing the launch of the rather modest Oris Big Crown Pointer Date Collection. Available in new 40mm and 36mm versions, this casual yet well-detailed watch makes use of uncommon date functions and eye-catching color applications.

There are times when you can accurately judge the general attractiveness of a watch from a picture, and there are times when you really need to put it on your own wrist. For me and the new Oris Pointer Date model, it must be the latter case. The Pointer Date is perfect for the hand, managing to combine sporty and more conventional elements into one trendy style. While I think the 40mm version fits my wrist the best, the 36mm has a lot of charm and certainly a more vintage feel to the two.

Swinging down a large screw crown, polished sides, brushed lugs, and a classic thin coin-edged frame, the Pointer Date is a reserved and almost timeless image of "vintage inspired". Apart from the old bezel and dial style, the casing shape and the brush finish give a sporty vibe that I really like in both sizes.

Both sizes can be obtained with a black dial or in a fancier color inspired by Le Corbusier, a warm green for 36mm and an excellent blue gray for 40mm. The two colors are different, work beautifully with the steel case offering, and create a completely different feel on the wrist. I was blown away by the 40mm blue dial version, the combination of colors and the way the light interacts with the bubble dome sapphire crystal is beautiful and, for me, makes use of the dial's perfectly balanced and legible layout.

Using a module made by Oris on the basis of the Sellita SW 200-1 (aka Oris Cal 754), the Pointer Date has a time and date function that shows the date via a fourth hand and a date scale that surrounds the outer edge of the dial. For a small accent, the date hand is provided with a red tip that helps with legibility when reading the thin handset. With cathedral-style hands for the hours and minutes, the hands measure perfectly, with the end of the minute hand reaching the outer edge of the dial.

The minimal dial text and hour hands, Arabic numerals and the 5 minute mark on the dial are printed with Super-LumiNova. Also, look at the font, it's a very good "4".

For those who love green, there's also a Pointer Date Bronze and a new limited edition Pointer Date called Oris Big Crown Pointer Date 80th Anniversary Edition Ref. 01 754 7741 3167-07 5 20 58BR. Oris has created the Big Crown Pointer Date 80th Anniversary Model, a special piece with a 40mm case, fluted bezel and oversized bronze cast crown, and a striking green dial, to mark the 80th anniversary of this landmark watch. for $1,760, proceeds from selling the edition.

For $1,800 and $1,600, respectively, all regular models can be held on a steel multilink bracelet or leather strap. Oris has also selected leather straps that use a natural plant-based tanning process that is environmentally friendly and does not require the harmful metals associated with normal tanning.

For a real everyday watch with a great wrist display, interesting complications, and great value, I really love the Pointer Date collection. The blue dial on the skin feels like it's moving, but both sizes feel great and I like the distinctive color use and easy blend of Oris' sporty know-how with traditional motifs.

Oris Big Crown Pointer Date Red - Bracelet Ref. 01 754 7741 4068-07 8 20 22

The new Oris Big Crown Pointer Date collection revives designs inherited for generations of forward-thinking men and women.

This spring, Oris is re-introducing the iconic Big Crown Pointer Date, Oris's signature design that embodies the long and famous history of the independent Swiss company. While the Oris Big Crown Pointer Date marks Oris's rich heritage in watchmaking, it is also a contemporary timepiece designed to appeal to both elegant and modest men and women.

The history of Oris and aviation are closely related. Oris was founded at the beginning of aviation in 1904 and, in the early 1910s, developed the first pilot pocket watch.

The Oris Big Crown, which made its debut in 1938, sparked the same spirit of exploration. This was followed in 1917 by the company's first pilot watch, a watch featuring an innovative mechanism that meant that only when the button was pressed at 2 o'clock could the clock be set. The Oris Big Crown, which made its debut in 1938, sparked the same spirit of exploration. The hands can adjust your watches quickly and easily. Today, the Oris range of pilot watches is packed with revolutionary timepieces that pilots around the world trust. The Big Crown Pointer Date Oris is more than a milestone for the high-performance inventive watch in the company's archives.

In the 1980s, this marked a pivotal moment for the company as it reintroduced itself to the forefront of Oris's mission to uphold the enduring value of mechanical watchmaking in the face of the quartz revolution. This is one of Oris' most recognizable designs, with a sleek round case and pointed lugs, a coin-edged bezel, a broad crown, a practical dial, and a central dial showing the date and one of Oris's most recognizable pieces iconic of all watchmaking.

The Big Crown Pointer Date is driven by a Swiss-made automatic movement, in line with the Oris principle of producing only mechanical watches.

Oris President Ulrich Herzog commented: “The appointment date for the new Big Crown is Oris continuously. It is a milestone in our rich history, to the point that it can be said that it is almost like a company logo - that's the power of its design code. We are very proud of it and happy to present it to contemporary audiences.

Oris Big Crown Pointer Date Review

When it comes to getting the most watches for the least amount of money, it takes a lot to beat Oris. Currently, the brand may enjoy more attention for its various dive models, in particular the completely modern Aquis and the retro-inspired Divers Sixty-Five collection; however, if there is only one name from the past that we can pinpoint (a play on words that was really meant) and say without it we might not have modern Oris watches at all, it would be the Great Crown Pointer Date.

The original was introduced in 1938 as one of the earliest examples of a dedicated pilot watch, and Oris has had a somewhat orthodox model that dates complications in his portfolio from then on. The newest generation launched in 2018 to celebrate its 80th anniversary, with sizes ranging from 36mm and 40mm, all with a number of stylish cues designed to give you a warm, nostalgic glow.

Modern Oris Big Crown Pointer Date

We're used to vintage reissues from manufacturers today, with many of the biggest names in the industry clearing scraps from archives and adopting classic elements to include with new releases. With Oris' contribution, they have borrowed from the early Big Crown Pointer Date watches of the 30s as well as from the dark days of the 1980s, the only mechanical watch in the company's lineup in a sea of quartz was the period version.

But instead of being a mixture of disparate features vying for attention, they all come together to be one incredible combination of the best of both worlds. In addition to the analog dial itself, we get an oversized titular crown, included so early aviators can use it while wearing the same bulky gloves in the cockpits of frozen era aircraft. Additionally, the dial number font is historically correct, as are the massive cathedral hand filled LuminNova and dome crystals - although they are crafted from sapphire on a modern version rather than acrylic.

From subsequent iterations, Oris has picked up attractive coin-edged bezels and tapered curved lugs that hug the wrist, with finishes on the top and polished sides for contrast. This combination of features means we have a watch that can function in both formal and casual wear, without looking out of place in either role, along with calendar complications you won't find anywhere else.

Pointer Date Complications

A watch that also tells you the date is a very useful thing to have. The most widely used application of the date complication - one used by many mechanical watch brands - is to make the numbers visible through a small window on the dial, most commonly in the three o'clock location. First discovered in 1945, this method provides an easy-to-read date indication but has long been criticized for eliminating overall symmetries, especially when covered by a magnifying lens.

The system of the Oris Pointer Date prints an outer scale of 1-31 around the edge of the dial above the index and adds an additional side (often ending with a different colored tip to help distinguish it from the timepiece), leading to the correct date. That way, the balance of the design remains largely unaffected, and gives the entire watch a clean legibility that's ideal for pilots. Why more brands don't have watches with a pointer date detail in their catalogs is a bit of a mystery, but it's been Oris's signature move, and one that's certainly caught the eye of many - the watch nerd.

The movement is equally responsible for both watch sizes, the Sellita SW 200-1, an automatic caliber reworked to add a Date Indicator feature and is named the Oris 754. It has a power reserve of 38 hours, a frequency of 28,800 vph, and is equipped with the trademark red winding rotor , which is visible through the casing behind the screen.

Option

Available in 21 different configurations, all made of stainless steel or bronze, the new version of the Oris Big Crown Pointer Date is finished with a set of bracelets and accessories. It runs concurrently with an older iteration, which is still in production, for a total of 35 different variations.

A newer range has been released with inventive dial color variations that truly capture the imagination. Alongside the more traditional black and white dial, we get less-seen tones of slate blue, subtle faded green and rich ox blood red. However, not all colors are offered on both watch sizes - the oxblood dial, for example, is only on the larger sizes for the time being, whereas, on the other hand, light green is only found on the smaller versions. Only time will tell if that will change in the future.

The 36mm watch is a watch with a genuine vintage feel, as a 40mm watch would be huge in the 1930s, even for a pilot model. As a result, it is a smaller version of the Date Indicator which generally accepts the more traditional dial colors. Another interesting little detail is the tip of the needle, which is painted red or white, depending on what will give the best contrast to the color of the dial. The bracelet is a choice between an intricate seven-link steel bracelet or one of several types of brown or black leather strap, all tanned using a natural, eco-friendly plant-based process.

However, as usual with Oris, the most pleasant surprise came when finding out the price. You can own this incredibly handsome and legacy-rich model powered by a high-quality Swiss movement for as little as $ 1,600 in retail, and even less on the secondary market. As an everyday watch that can be worn anywhere, it offers an almost unbeatable advantage with the added bonus of being a quirky look from classic dating complications.