ORIS has, for many years, been about inclusive luxury; the making of a quality mechanical watch at a price that is more or less attainable. This has traditionally meant buying movements from other suppliers. While that’s still the case for now, ORIS is declaring, very simply, ‘the Caliber 400 is the new standard.’

What’s this mean for the ORIS product line?

Inclusive luxury means making watches that are affordable. To that end, ORIS won’t get rid of sourced Swiss movements. Instead, think of it like three tiers.

  • Affordable Swiss
  • Caliber 400
  • Caliber 100

The point being that Caliber 400 will become the standard movement for ORIS, and all the benefits that come with it. The Caliber 400 took 5 years to develop, and will allow ORIS to offer its customers a 10 year warranty for watches equipped with the movement.

The Caliber 400 has the ORIS bear hidden as an Easter egg. The two barrels form his ears, the jewels are yes, and the rotor is his grin.

What does the ORIS Caliber 400 give me as a customer?

For starters, 120 hours of power reserve. ORIS knows that watch collectors generally wear multiple watches a week, or even multiple watches a day. By giving the Caliber 400 two barrels, power reserve was increased to 5 days. You can set the watch, put it down, and come back on the 5th day without needing to re-set the time or date.

The Caliber 400 has centrally mounted hands for hours, minutes and seconds. It has a date function, with a date window that ORIS commonly places at 3 or 6 o’clock. The date changes instantaneously, and is a quick-set date movement, so you can adjust the date rapidly. For the wearer, it hacks, stopping the seconds hand when the crown is pulled out. For watchmakers, there’s a fine timing device, so that it can be regulated as it should be. The watch beats at 4Hz, or 28,800 vibrations per hour.

What does that mean for specific models in the lineup?

The Caliber 400 was first launched in the 43mm Aquis Date watch. That’s a decidedly big watch. Now, in the middle of June 2021, it’s launching in the 41mm Aquis Date. It should come as no surprise to see the movement used in the Diver’s 65 line of watches. It launched in Aquis first, because Aquis is the backbone of the ORIS Collection.

The photo gallery

Below are a number of photos of the beautiful 41mm ORIS Aquis Date with Caliber 400. It comes in blue, green, and black, on steel or rubber strap. Go to Oris.ch to learn more.

ByVictor Marks

sometimes described as "The best bang since the Big One."

Leave a Reply