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The year was 2017 and I was getting married. My wife told me she’d gotten me a watch as a wedding gift – an Oris Sixty-Five to be exact. This was after I strongly suggested I wanted one, so I figured I’d return the favor. After much research, I found an Oris Big Crown that I thought would make the perfect “wedding watch”.
The Big Crown is one of the most classic Oris models in my opinion. Maybe it’s not as popular as the Aquis, but it’s been a staple in the brand’s lineup for a long time. It was also its first pilot watch. Oris introduced its first “Big Crown” pilot’s watch in 1938, but the watch in this review is a new, unique take on this classic model.
The Oris Big Crown, With A Twist
This model is different than most Oris Big Crowns. The stark white dial (which appears to be lacquered), gives it an almost enamel-like finish. It’s a little different, but isn’t necessarily out-of-the-ordinary. What makes the watch special is the princess cut diamonds that are placed above each of the applied indices and Arabic numerals on the dial.
There’s actually 13 diamonds on the dial in total, since Oris placed two at the twelve o’ clock position. The diamonds jumped out at me right away, because I knew they’d match the princess cut of my wife’s engagement ring.
The white dial and diamonds made the watch unique and special enough that I knew it was “the one”. The watch does share some features of the other Big Crown watches made by Oris, too. This includes the signature fluted bezel, which gives the watch a little something “extra”.
The bezel actually makes the watch more interesting. A regular old smooth bezel would’ve made the watch look a little boring overall. There’s also another nice little detail if you look closely, which is the flat, highly-polished inner bezel. It’s an added touch that I didn’t notice at first, but it helps hide scratches. Due to the high-polish, it also looks black at certain angles.
The fleiger-style hands are filled with a generous amount of lume that glows blue. All of this is protected behind a sapphire crystal. The Arabic numerals and Indices are also applied, but it’s a very thin, almost printed application.
A Watertight Case With Classic Proportions
One of the best features of the watch is the water resistance. It boasts 100 meters water resistance and is aided by a screw-down crown. That makes the watch a perfect go anywhere, do anything watch in my opinion.
The case is slim and allows the watch to wear nice and slim. It measures 38mm across and it’s about 12mm thick. The lug width is only 18mm, which makes the watch wear slightly smaller than say, a Hamilton Khaki Field Mechanical in 38mm. The Hamilton has a 20mm lug width, as well as a longer lug-to-lug width – so it definitely seems to wear larger than this Oris.
The case itself is almost entirely brushed. The lugs curve down nicely to fit snugly on the wrist, and the angular end parts are actually polished. This is really the only polished part on the watch except the crown and inner bezel.
The strap itself is a taupe color and I think it suits the watch. It’s a color you don’t really see very often, if at all. It’s complimented by white stitching and a tan underside. It seems to be a leather strap with alligator print, not genuine alligator, but it gets the job done and has broken in nicely over time.
The exhibition caseback displays the Selitta SW-200 movement with the signature red rotor Oris is known for. It also carries over the pattern of the bezel to the outer caseback, which shows the attention to detail over at Oris.
Conclusion
I think this women’s version of the classic Oris Big Crown is hard to beat. The complimenting colors of taupe, silver, and white – coupled with the tastefully placed diamonds – really make the whole package come together. It’s a unique take on the Big Crown, and I don’t think there’s anything else like it in the Oris catalog. It’s also a great GADA watch, or even a “one watch”, for people like my wife who aren’t as into watches I am.
When I asked my wife about any negatives about the watch, the only thing she could really think of was the lack of a date window. I actually like the symmetry of the dial without the date, but my wife prefers the functionality of a date complication – especially at work. She also tends to favor metal bracelets, but her Seiko SARB035 covers both those bases. So between the Seiko and Oris, along with her Apple Watch, she’s got a nice “three watch collection”.