The story of the Big Crown Pointer Date is the stuff of Oris legend. Its genesis began in the 1930s when Oris was a fast-growing independent company, known around the world for its precision wristwatches.
The brief was to produce a watch that would serve a new clientele with very specific needs. For pilots, a watch would need to be as precise and reliable as any, but it would also need to be easy to use and read. Cockpits were uncomfortable places: cramped, hard, often cold, and always unforgiving.
Oris’ solution was to produce a simple round watch in a stainless steel case, with a black dial and large Arabic numerals at 12, 3, and 9, and an oversized crown that could be gripped by a gloved aviator. It would also feature a date complication, indicated by a central hand with a red arrow tip. This way, it would be functional and legible, a tool watch for one of the most demanding jobs imaginable.
Little would its creators have known, but their practical, high-functioning watch of 1938 would become a design staple, one of the most recognizable watches in all of watchmaking. Today, almost 90 years since that first release, the Big Crown Pointer Date – as it’s become known – is our signature design and a Swiss watchmaking icon.
Case
Multi-piece stainless steel case. Sapphire, domed on both sides, anti-reflective coating inside. Stainless steel, screwed, see-through mineral glass.
40.00 mm
Size
5 bar
Water Resistance
20 mm
Interhorn Width
Movement
Centre hands for hours, minutes and seconds, date centre hand, instantaneous date, date corrector, fine timing device and stop-second
41 hrs
Power reserve
Caliber
754-1
Dimensions
Ø 25.60 mm, 11 1/2’’’
Winding
Automatic winding
Vibrations
28’800 A/h, 4 Hz
