Oris Williams F1 Team Day Date Watch's 2010

Continuing their partnership with the Williams F1 team, Oris has released a new motor sport watch for 2010 that is likely the nicest yet when it comes to a watch made for Williams. This is at least the fourth watch to come from the partnership, and it looks really nice in mostly black with a technical looking blue trim. Oris is further refining the dial design, offering a fascinating, yet polished look.

Oris Divers Date Watch

You know what Oris makes a lot of? Diver's watches. The brand just makes a ton of these things. So many models, lots of weird iterations on the theme, after a while I just sort of stopped paying attention to their new models. I mean they came out with a regulator style diving watch. Why? I mean you really need to like regulator watches to be into one of those. There are small seconds, GMTs, all sorts of chronographs, and just a number of other interesting models. In my mind, no one else has as big a variety of mechanical diving watches as Oris. So sifting through all of them I wanted to look for the basic diver that they made that was good ol' dive watch goodness. I came up with the simply named Oris Divers Date watch.

Oris watches are sometimes hit and miss for me. This one I really like though. It is really a tool that is OK to wear for any occasion. The Divers Date (I am not sure why there is no apostrophe in "divers") has a great looking curvy case that is 44mm wide in steel. Actually, there is an almost identical version in titanium called the Divers TT1 Titan watch. This version is different in the material, and the 4 o'clock placement of the crown. OK, I need to stay focused on the watch at hand, but really, there are many versions of these watches.

The Divers Date comes in a few color styles. With the black dial, blue dial, and black dial with the partially red bezel. There are also lume dial (that look greenish), in the titanium versions. They should glow like mofos. The standard lume on the watch is actually bluish, which is nice. If you look closely you will notice a wave pattern texture on the dial that also looks good (similar to what you'd find on a Omega Seamaster 300m). Oris is unique for having its arrow head (sort of) style hour markers and the similar looking baton hands. Oris segments the hour hand to make it stand out from the hour hand more. I admit that marketing images like this of the watch do not do it justice. Google "Oris Diver Date" for owner images and reviews. You'll be sure it is a nice watch then, and you can really see how curvy and chunky the case is. A real professional tool as so many watches wish they could be.

Unlike most dive watches the Oris Diver Date has a see-through caseback with a view into the automatic mechanical movement. Of course the watch still retains 300 meters of water resistance. I am pretty sure the movement is a Swiss ETA 2824-2. You can see Oris's signature mostly red automatic rotor. The watch comes with nicely polished steel strap, and either the rubber strap is included or comes separately. It is a nice way to mix up the style, as well as the weight of the watch that is likely heavy (which I like). I further enjoy how Oris decided to place the date window at the 6 o'clock position making it more symmetrical. There is even a dot of lume beneath it as to not tarnish darkness viewing of the watch. Of course you know that I like the dial matching colored disc that the date is on. The rotating diver's bezel is exactly what you would expect. Nothing fancy or sub-par, just your standard easy to operate diver's bezel (with a top of lume at the top.

Price for these watches is one of the biggest selling points. You get a well-made Swiss watch for somewhere in the $1,000 - $1,300 range. This makes them a pretty good deal and a solid option when looking for a good daily watch or "nice" rugged timepiece that isn't cheap feeling. Especially if you want to feel ready to jump into a pond at any moment. Add it to the list of watches to want.


Ariel Adams 
Ablogtoread.com

The Worldtimer Oris Artelier

There are certain high-end Swiss watches that I've always admired for their style and function, among them is the Ulysse Nardin GMT - Perpetual. It's a travel watch in the tradition of the Rolex GMT Master, but with a neat twist: It has two buttons that increment or decrement the local time. When you travel, simply press the buttons as required to jump to your destination time zone! Simple to use, hard to make and very functional. However, being a Swiss chronometer of in-house design, the Ulysse Nardin is out of my price range. Imagine my surprise and delight, then, at discovering that well-regarded Swiss brand Oris now has a similar watch, the Oris Artelier Worldtimer.

There are two versions, with and without bracelet. The picture shows the version I prefer, on an leather strap. Features of the watch include

* Sapphire crystals front and back, with interior anti-glare coating and doming on the front for easier visibility.
* Movement based on the ETA 2836, a well-known movement with good serviceability and excellent reputation. Oris modified the 2836 to add the plus/minus buttons, and added a second timezone display at 3 o'clock on the dial.
* Automatic movement, 38 hour power reserve.
* The dial is silver and grey, decorated with guilloche or machine turning.
* Date display at 6 o'clock
* Perfectly sized at 42.5mm
* The hands and indices are lumed with Superliminova, so it should be readable at night as well.
* Water resistant to 30m or 98ft, but I'd be hesitant to get a watch like this damp. This is not a sport watch!

MSRP of the Worldtimer is $2,095 now(01/13/2010) on Amazon.com, which is downright cheap for what it is. I hope to get one of these for review very soon.

Oris Regulateur

The polls have been counted, the results are in and the verdict...size matters! Well, at least underwater, according to Oris. The swiss watchmaker, well known for producing high quality yet at the same time surprisingly affordable diving watches, has just released its new diving watch, and its the largest ever! At 49mm the Regulateur "Der Meistertaucher" is no delicate timepiece, but then again, one would generally not consider diving a particularly delicate pursuit either. However, one must really wonder at the practicality of a watch this size out of the water. Granted it's certain to make an impression wherever it is worn but whether said impression is favourable or not really depends on the interpretation of the wearer.

Although, to be fair, this watch must be assessed on the basis of what it has been designed for and one look at its rather large face will tell you that when it comes to diving, this timepiece means business. For a diving watch size is as important as functionality and style, there is no value in having a small cluttered dial that cannot be easily read with a quick glance. To support the ease of use the watch’s orange Superluminova coating has been designed to glow in the blackest water. Safety is also a prominent feature thanks to the regulator display separating the hours, minutes and seconds. The watch is water-resistant to a respectable 1000m/100 bar and comes equipped with a helium escape valve.

The specifications also attest to this watch's calibre as a more than capable diving instrument:

TT1 Divers Der Meistertaucher Regulateur

Movement - Automatic

Functions - Hours, minutes, small seconds, date and tachometer

Case - Grade 2 titanium, 49 mm, aluminium unidirectional rotating bezel, anti-reflective convex sapphire crystal, screw-down back, screw-down crown and helium valve, water-resistant to 1000 m/100 bar

Dial - Black with waves decor, applied hour-marker, numerals and hands coated with dark orange Superluminova, central display for minutes and off-centre for hours and seconds at 4 and 10 o’clock respectively, date window at 6 o’clock

Bracelet/Strap - Black rubber with extendible titanium folding safety clasp or extendible titanium bracelet comprising several parts.

Although big on size the Oris divers is a real must for purist divers who desire a functional and reliable timepiece, and not just a great deal of marketing hype.

Oris F1 Day Date Watch

Some watches that are art, and some that are technical marvels but we are talking about neither of those today. Today we are talking about a high quality and comfortable every day watch that should be in every "normal" watch guys collection. The Oris F1 Day Date is a marvelous watch that is impossible not to love. The watch is available on both a nice metal bracelet or an exceptional rubber strap, and in my opinion one of the nicest rubber bands you will find at this or any price level. The rubber band is soft yet never losses it's shape and unlike less refined bands, is slightly scented with vanilla so the foul smell of wet rubber will never be on your watch or arm.
The case and face have multiple color combinations anywhere from blue on sliver to completely blacked out with a black face and black PVD case, some orange and red are thrown in for good measure. As a casual watch collector, you'll have no problem finding a color combination you'll want to wear every day. The case has a nice overall finish, combining both brushed and polished surfaces that seem to enhance the overall quality of the Oris product. The case features a stainless steel crown which measures 42mm, which is a rather standard size these days for most watches in this price range. It looks great on both thin and wide wrists, and as I've mentioned previously is amazingly comfortable, mostly due to the freedom movement and angle the strap sits at the side of the case. I really can't say enough about the comfort level of this watch. It just feels like it belongs on your wrist every day.

Mechanically the watch uses the time tested and completely solid 25 jewel Oris 635 automatic movement which includes automatic and manual winding with a 38 hour power reserve. There is a clear case back on the F1 Day Date, showing off this fine precise movement and you'll spend just as much time admiring the technical precision of the movement as you will the great looks of the case.

The top glass on this timepiece is a flat Sapphire crystal with an anti-reflective coating. Each face has a unique carbon fiber look to it, enhancing the "sport" look of this watch. The hour, minute and indices are all treated with "Superluminova," and have a slight glow to them when fully charged. If there is one thing about this watch I would improve upon is the lume visibility, maybe slightly larger hands and lume on the second hand would make a nice improvement.

For just under 1000 dollars retail, you can't find a more complete, comfortable, attractive watch than an Oris F1 Day Date. I am a particular fan of the black on black with red highlights; there is just something about a stealth looking watch that I enjoy, but each of the models has a distinctive look that sets it apart from its brethren.

Big Crown Pointer Date Watch By Oris

Oris is pretty well known to me as a maker of workhorse watches with all sorts of sporty themes. Maybe it is racing, or diving, or aviation - Oris has a handsome watch for the job. Less people know their retro styled watches. One such example is the Oris Big Crown Pointer Date watch. It has a terrible name (no effort there!), but totally falls into the category of what I call "the dad watch." Yea, that looks like something everyone's "dad" used to wear. It has that sense of classic no-nonsense functionality that seems to remind you of steady good taste for uncontroversial times in the past. This is for people whose father were not sports or action heroes but regular guys who wanted something nice, but "reasonable."

The Big Crown Pointer Date watches come in a few styles and even in a smaller version for the ladies ("mom watch" anyone?). Prices are actually quite reasonable. You can a well-made mechanical Swiss watch for well under $1000. Of course there are version just over $1000 and at least the ladies versions come in quartz models as well. Oris watches tend to always feel like a good value, even if you get into their several thousand dollar diving watches (that are great depending on your tastes). Pictured are three of the varieties of the watch. Oris really is trying to make a Big Crown Pointer Date watch for everyone. White dial, black dial, silver dial. Little bit of decoration or without. I tend to like the two-tone model with the gold coined edge bezel and some gold-toned links in the bracelet.

The name of the watch pretty much sums it up, but I wanted to discuss a bit. As to the pointer date that is pretty self evident. Using a periphery and crescent moon hand to indicate the date as opposed to having a disc underneath the dial with a date window. The large crown is interesting. At 40mm wide, proper watch making etiquette would have had Oris give it a moderately sized crown. But this is a man's watch, and Oris wanted to emphasize the traditional aspect of the design. Back when watches like this usually were manually wound and needed more of your attention. Thus, to give the watch a more important and traditional look, the crown is sized for a watch that is a few millimeters larger in diameter. While there are a few styles of hands, I prefer the classic aviator style ones.

It is probably a better idea to get one of these modern vintage style Oris Big Crown Pointer Date watches than one of the originals it is based on from "way back when." While I am of course a fan of modern watches, there is a big place on my heart for quality vintage designs from back when mechanical watches were all you had, and all watches were something a bit special. Not like you could go to the drug store and get a cheap quartz watch or a high quality Swiss one. So for those times there are plenty of homage are vintage styles such as this Oris watch available out there.