ORIS Aquis Depth Gauge London Launch

It was one of those rare Indian summer evenings in London. That near perfect temperature when you can feel just the right amount of heat in the setting sun; but not too hot to be bothered! ORIS put on a reception for the London watch crowd to see the new offerings from Basel. I have to say ORIS to some extent is an unknown quantity to myself. I like most of their dive watches, and I know they sponsor the Williams F1 team, but outside of that, not a lot!



At the suitably named Vista Bar at the Trafalgar Hotel (in what was once the offices for the Cunard Line and which doubled up as the meeting room for Bond in Dr. No), with Lord Horatio Nelson keeping a watchful eye over proceedings, ORIS hosted the London watch literati and introduced the ORIS AQUIS Depth Gauge watch. It was the kind of setting that would have served the most recent James Bond well: with views over Whitehall, Parliament, and south-east London. The latest ORIS dive watch (AQUIS) is both an accurate watch and depth gauge. The dial is elegant, easy to read, and comes with the sort of peripheral kit that would have made Q proud. Not the more recent incarnation, with his laptop and Poindexter glasses; no, the other one, that always wanted Bond to return the goods in the same condition as provided! As if that would ever happen! Especially given that ORIS dive watches are intended for use in the water!





The rotors on the ORIS movements are distinctive for their red-coated rotors. Not that you would know that with the solid back on most of their watches. Although ORIS movements lack finishing as we would hope to see on more expensive pieces, in reality their watch movements are both functional, finished sufficiently for the purpose and price point, and robust; which is just as well as most of the watches are used in reasonably tough conditions. Their dive watches are just that: smart, tough, mechanical, and for the money, a great watch.



The watch case design for the ORIS dive watch is tactile, curved, and very comfortable on the wrist. There is a choice of rubber strap or steel bracelet, a screwdriver to help you change the straps over, and a couple of extra pins for the lugs (in case you lose one or two in the heat of the moment). The glass holders could easily double up as evidence capsules for that ultra toxic poison or the microchip that will cause a meltdown in the world economic system. If you want to believe it, both run alongside the Thames to the south of where we were, about where Parliament stands!



ORIS watches have been around for a little over a hundred years. They are still independent and owner controlled, started and still resident in the quiet Swiss town of Hölstein. Their history is fairly unremarkable. Looking through the website, there is little on the timeline that makes you think that here is a watch firm that has been lost from the light of history. No, here is a watch firm that does what it says on the by-line: real watches for real people. The state of ORIS watches seems to mirror that of the Swiss watch industry generally. By the mid 1960’s, employing around 800 people at their specialized watch factory, ORIS produced dependable and workman like watches. They still do; only the work now involves flying helicopters, free diving to new depths, or driving a F1 car. Everyday occupations for the everyman action hero, and that is just what an ORIS watch is for: tough conditions and where a bump or scratch is not going to have you rushing back to the Authorized Dealer to have the whole watch serviced and re-polished. They are great everyday working watches.



Standing on the roof, with my best wistful Bond look on my face as I gazed at the horizon, I was rather taken with the idea of acquiring the ORIS and setting off on my own mission: whatever that might be. Although I would hopefully not need to use the depth gauge element, at that exact moment my mission was traversing the subterranean hell that is the London Underground system at night. As Bond might tell you: you arrive shaken, not stirred! But I am sure the ORIS watch would be up to the task; although my own Q might grumble when I arrive back at base: “Not another watch!”

Andrew H This message has been edited by 219 on 2013-09-05 09:26:38 This message has been edited by 219 on 2013-09-05 09:27:12