ORIS are historically significant. In recent years, they’ve been pushing the boundaries by with unique movements. The ORIS Big Crown ProPilotX Calibre 115 takes things further, with a skeleton movement and titanium multi-piece case, showing just how adventurous ORIS can be.
The case on the ORIS Big Crown ProPilotX is a 44mm case, made of titanium. I love titanium for its light weight. The bezel is knurled in a pattern and texture inspired by jet turbine engines. The crown is titanium, and screws down. The bracelet is a multi-part 3 link style bracelet with integrated lugs, made just for this case.
Here’s where things get weird: The movement is a hand-wound movement. Normally, that might put some people off, a hand-wound movement in a large sport watch that seems like it could have an automatic. But here’s what you’re getting: there’s a small seconds sundial, ORIS’s patented non-linear power reserve indicator, and a ginormous (my words, not theirs) extended mainspring to deliver an amazing 10-day power reserve.
The movement and barrel are skeletonized, so that you can see this huge mainspring and how wound it is right there in glorious view at the 12 o’clock position. This is a serious 240-hour power reserve in-house movement.
I personally like one of the comments that Oris’s Senior Product Design Engineer, Lukas Bühlmann, had to say. “One of the hardest things was figuring out how to maintain the balance between the formal language of the case and the movement. In other words, how do you design a modern watch that is not a fashion watch? We wanted to create something contemporary that would retain its relevance as fashions change.”
I think they’ve accomplished it. This is a rugged, modern, large, sport watch with an impressive movement, and skeletonization that feels minimalistic without being brutalist.
This fully skeletonized Oris Big Crown ProPilotX Calibre 115 retails for $7200 on the strap and $7600 on the Titanium bracelet, and is available from ORIS.ch
Watch Overview
- Brand & Model: ORIS Big Crown ProPilotX Calibre 115
- Price: $7200 USD (strap), $7600 (titanium bracelet)
- Who we think it might be for: You want a titanium watch that’s reliable and ready for whatever apocalypse might come.
- Would I buy one for myself based on what I’ve seen?: I really love the skeletonization here.
- If I could make one design suggestion, it would be: integrated lugs. The integrated lugs don’t work for me as well as normal lugs and end-links would, and this case looks like it was originally designed for end links.
- What spoke to me the most about this watch: It’s all there. Titanium. Skeleton. 38 Jewel. 240-hour reserve. Bonkers, and I like it that way.
Tech Specs from ORIS
- Case size: 44mm
- Case material: Titanium with a hardened coating to prevent scratches
- Crystal: Sapphire, domed on both sides, double-sided anti-reflective coating
- Caseback: titanium screw down with sapphire display
Strap: Multi-piece titanium bracelet with ‘lift’ clasp; black leather strap with titanium ‘lift’ clasp - Movement: Calibre 115 (skeletonised)
- Functions: Centre hands for hours and minutes, small seconds between 7 and 8 o’clock, non-linear power reserve indicator at 3 o’clock, fine timing and stop-second devices
- Winding: Hand-wound
- Power reserve: 240 hours
- Water resistance: 10 Bar (100 meters)
