Oris Big Crown Propilot Watches

Ever since its initial debut in the early 1900s, the Oris Watchmaking Company has reserved its commitment on mechanical watches, without ever reconsidering. The luxury watches manufacturer was established in Hölstein, Switzerland by two gentlemen- Paul Cattin and Georges Christian.

By 1938, Oris Watch Company had already established its own dial and escapements factories, allowing the brand to create high quality and superior timepieces. Actually, in that year, the Swiss brand released its first wristwatch for pilots, which has a definitive big crown and a pointer Calendar function. Although it served as one of the unique features of the timepiece, the oversized crown also helped pilots to adjust the watch without having to remove the gloves.

While it might be considered just as a time teller at the time, the birth of the Big Crown was truly a landmark for the history of Oris watches. In 1984, for instance, the brand’s designers reintroduced the Pointer Calendar from the Big Crown watches, although in a different watch series. This comes shortly after the brand has been rebranded to Oris SA by Dr. Rolf Portmann and Ulrich W. Herzog following the devastating Quartz Crisis.

After the watchmaker has opted to abandon quartz and focus on mechanical watches, the new 21st century was ushered with immense innovations and technological developments. For the first decade ending 2010, Oris had a ton of new watch models, all contemporary and innovatively designed.

In 2008, for example, the luxury watches brand released the BC4 Flight Timer which is ultra-modern and reliable with the three time zones function. For it to stand out from the competitive market of Swiss watches, the wristwatch has an extraordinary crown at 2 o’clock which is set vertically.

In the year 2014, Oris was celebrating its 110th anniversary since the establishment in 1904. The Hölstein brand introduced several new watch series to mark the moment, with one being the Big Crown ProPilot series for the aviation collection.

The Oris Big Crown Propilot came with three different variants of the Date, the Day-Date, and the Chronograph GMT. Each of the watch version has an own sizing prospect, with the simple Date model having a 41mm girth.

Inspired by the original Big Crown watch from the 1930s, the three models of the Oris Big Crown Propilot feature a characteristic oversized crown. The encompassed References also has a coin-edge bezel which evokes the geometry of a jet-engine turbine.

Still in the year 2014, Oris SA also added an Altimeter watch to the line of Big Crown Propilot watches. Technically, the model was noted as the first mechanical watch to have the mechanical altimeter complication. On the sporty multi-layered dial, the watch presents you with the readings of both the attitude and air pressure, alongside the center hour and date.

The GMT Small Second is another series of the line of Big Crown Propilot which has been continuing with the tradition the original Big Crown had started. Despite its rising status, the exact release date of the watch still remains contradicting, as some state it to be 2015 and others 2016.

The prestigious wristwatch, however, is a true cockpit-ready instrument with a small seconds sub-dial and bold Arabic numerals for the center hour.

For the GMT function, Oris Big Crown Propilot GMT Small Second has 24-hour calibrations on the inner bezel, which is indicated by an airplane-shaped pointer hand. At Baselworld 2019, the Swiss brand introduced a new version of the watch which includes a bidirectional rotating bezel, with 60-minute calibration for timing.

Similar to the other Oris watches in the Aviation collection, the new Big Crown Timer GMT has a highly-legible dial to ensuring optimum accuracy. Additionally, the renowned timepiece is 100-meter waterproof, thus, you not only enjoy the two timezones on the high attitudes but serve your underwater desires too.

Prior to the release of the GMT watch, Oris Company had just commemorated the 80th anniversary since the debut of the first Big Crown watch. To celebrate the moment with its esteemed consumers, the Swiss watchmaker decided to get back to its roots and reissued the original Big Crown model.

Aesthetically, the new Big Crown Pointer Date watch looks more of its predecessor but in a contemporary manner. The watch has new luminesced hands and the sub-dial for the small seconds is missing.

While at the 2018 fair, Oris also released the Big Crown Propilot Alarm watch which has a 12-hour alarm function that is set in 10-minute increments. Apart from the hour and alarm function, this watch also has a date function on a black disc at the center. Thus, a reliable timepiece to have on your wrist.

By the way, Oris Big Crown Propilot watches are not just meant for a real-world pilot. All the watches encompassed in the celebrated series feature stylish and elegant designs that will give your wardrobe a cockpit-inspired brilliance.