Keeping up with ORIS this season
By Yasemin Gumushan | 3 minute read
Since its inception in 1904, Oris have held craftmanship in their souls. Their mechanical watches always conform to the Oris credo: “Things must make sense”. Fast forward to today, Oris continue to pave their own paths. Constantly striving to make better manual watches that offer beautiful, innovative functions and advanced performance levels, here at Calibre, we explore their latest timepieces this season.
Sun Wukong Limited Edition
There’s no better way to mark the 60th anniversary of the classic Chinese animated film, The Monkey King: Uproar in Heaven , than with a memorable limited-edition watch.
Limited to 2,000 pieces, the Sun Wukong Limited Edition is an exclusive version of Oris’ high-performance Aquis Date diver’s watch. Designed and produced in partnership with the Shanghai Animation Film Studio CO, the film was originally released during the Second Golden Era of the Chinese film industry.
The Monkey King, or Sun Wukong in Mandarin Chinese, is a legendary mythical figure from the 16th-century Chinese classic novel Journey to the West . The iconic story tells of how Sun Wukong, a monkey born from stone, rebels against heaven with supernatural powers. Acquiring a red pillar with golden tips that he shrinks, the Monkey King fights his enemies and their unjust ways. Today, the Monkey King is an icon of Chinese culture recognized around the world.
Oris’ designers took inspiration from the Monkey King’s staff: the magical red and golden pillar which fights for the greater good. Here, the seconds hand becomes the weapon with a striking red color complete with golden tips. Expressing how fast the Monkey King spins it in battle, Oris designers abstracted the form, adding repeating flashes of blue that diminish and return in size and color to suggest constant motion.
Playful and unique, the Sun Wukong Limited Edition carries the same quality signifiers and exceptional performance which the Aquis Date has become known and loved for. It has a 41.5mm stainless steel case and an ocean blue uni-directional rotating bezel that plays an appreciable role in the piece’s character. Water-resistant to 300 meters, the watch includes crown protectors, a screw-down crown and a stainless-steel bracelet with an extendable folding clasp.
Completing the story, the case back is engraved with the head of Sun Wukong and his staff, while the same dial abstraction repeats on the special presentation case.
Big Crown Pointer Date Calibre 403
Introduced in 1938, the Big Crown Pointer Date is Oris’s signature design. Having been in constant production for more than 80 years, the Big Crown Pointer Date Calibre 403 marks the start of a new chapter in the story of an icon.
The original had two distinctive features – an oversized crown so the watch could be operated by gloved airmen, and a central hand that pointed to a date scale around the edge of the dial. The form has become Oris’s signature design, a Swiss watchmaking icon, and a byword for beautiful, functional, timeless watchmaking.
Embarking on its latest adventure, the Big Crown Pointer Date is getting one of the most significant upgrades in its distinguished history. The updated 38mm model carries Calibre 403, one of the Oris Calibre 400 Series of high-performance in-house engineered automatics. Calibre 403 first appeared in the 250-piece Hölstein Edition 2021, but this is the first time it features in a collection piece. It provides the watch with small seconds and pointer date complications. As with every movement in the Calibre 400 Series, Calibre 403 has elevated levels of anti-magnetism, a five-day power reserve and a 10-year warranty. Guaranteed to provide exceptional performance.
“People who love Oris have been asking for this, it’s a privilege as Oris guardians to begin this new chapter in the Big Crown story.” Oris Co-CEO, Rolf Studer
Oris Rectangular
It’s back. In fact, it never really went away. The Oris Rectangular returns with new proportions, dial design, and peppy dial and leather strap options, fit for every season. The Rectangular’s classic, dressy, unisex form is defined by its four-sided stainless-steel case and integrated straps. The dials come in white, blue, anthracite and Bordeaux with a design heavily influenced by the Art Deco style. Numerals at 12, 9 and 3 play with symmetry and asymmetry, while sword-shaped hands and a date window at 6 o’clock make the dial striking. Powered by the Oris Calibre 561, a Swiss Made automatic mechanical time-and-date movement, watch enthusiasts can admire the piece through a mineral glass case back. The Oris Rectangular is proof a watch doesn’t have to be round to find the right angle.
Shop Oris here.