Setting a new horological standard is no mean feat in our world of fast changing technology, but Oris seem to have achieved this with their Calibre 400 movement and Oris Aquis Date.
Oris are proud to unveil the Calibre 400, the result of years of hard work in research, developing, manufacture and testing. This automatic movement celebrates the joy of mechanics. It is an entirely new movement, independently conceived by Oris, and sets the new standard for automatic mechanical movements. It has a five-day power reserve (120 hours), is highly resistant to magnetism and comes with 10-year recommended service intervals and a reassuring 10-year warranty. Moreover, because it is an Oris calibre, every detail has been scrutinised to ensure the highest possible quality at the best possible price. That has always been the Oris movement creation philosophy.
Calibre 400 was conceived five years ago. The vision was to produce not just a highly accurate automatic movement, but one that would serve today’s world citizen. Oris say that ‘Modern life is more demanding of a mechanical watch than it was. We’re now surrounded by magnetic fields that can have an adverse effect on a watch movement – magnets are in computers, phone cases, air bags… and because of advances in manufacturing, it is expected that a mechanical watch will perform better and for longer than ever before.’
Consistency and Reliability
Having agreed on the philosophy behind the movement, the team, led by Beat Fischli, Oris’s Chief Operating Officer, were then faced with the challenge of delivering it. ‘The challenge creating a mechanical movement from scratch is not just to come up with a list of functions and then devise a solution to them,’ says Beat. ‘The real challenge is to produce a movement that will perform consistently and reliably for as long as the intervals you’re going to recommend between servicing.’
Beat and his team engineered the movement from the ground up. Ultimately, ‘The solution was to develop a highly efficient movement that would be much more resistant to wear and tear,’ says Beat. ‘We focused on reducing torque in the mainspring – where power is stored – to help conserve power and put less pressure on moving parts. We also introduced a new wheel design into the gear train that delivers far greater efficiency.’ Calibre 400 retains 85 per cent of the energy transferred from the mainspring, compared to a norm of around 70 per cent.
Winding and Power Reserve
‘…From experience, most of the problems in automatic movements come from the way they’re wound,’ Beat explains. ‘Typically, the rotating mass, or rotor, sits on a ball bearing and winds in both directions. Instead, we devised a much more reliable system based on the slide bearing concept that only winds in one direction. It’s much less complex and reduces wear and tear.’ That rotor feeds mainsprings in twin barrels that store Calibre 400’s huge five-day power reserve. ‘Power reserves have improved in modern mechanical watchmaking,’ says Beat. ‘Three days has become normal – but we wanted to do better.’
Beat and his team also developed an entirely new escapement. They selected silicon for the anchor and escape wheel and other nonferrous materials for the axes that hold the balance wheel, escape wheel and anchor in place. Around a further 30 parts are made of non-ferrous materials or non-magnetic alloys so that the impact of magnetic fields on the accuracy of Calibre 400 is reduced by more than 90 per cent compared to standard Swiss Made mechanical movements.
Oris Aquis Date
The Oris current collection is full of high-performance, fit-for-purpose mechanical watches. But when it came to choosing which model should carry the groundbreaking new Calibre 400, they say there was only one candidate. The Oris Aquis Date.
Around the world, the Aquis is recognised as an icon of contemporary diver’s watch design. Strong, reliable, versatile, and equipped with a long list of functions, it is chosen by men and women from all walks of life who love watches. The new Oris Aquis Date Calibre 400, has several differences to the standard model.
The first clue to what lies beneath are the words ‘5 days’ written on the gradient blue dial. In addition, the date display, window is also larger, and the date disc is black, rather than white. On the reverse, the sapphire case back is the largest ever installed in an Aquis Date, so the view into the movement is as open as it can be. In addition, the watch is still water-resistant to 30 bar (300 metres). It also has a uni-directional rotating bezel with a scratchproof ceramic insert (for safely timing dives) and SuperLumiNova® hands and indices. It is equipped with Oris’s newest patented development, the Quick Strap Change system; engineered so a bracelet or strap can be released simply by lifting a flap. No tools required.
In short, the Oris Aquis Date Calibre 400 sets the new standard in diver’s watches.
Available November 2020
Click here to buy from an Independent Watch Specialist.
Specification
Case Multi-piece stainless steel case, unidirectional rotating bezel with ceramic insert
Size 43.50 mm (1.713 inches)
Dial Gradient blue
Luminous material Hands and indices with Super-LumiNova®
Top glass Sapphire, domed on both sides, anti-reflective coating inside
Case back Stainless steel, screwed, see-through sapphire glass
Operating devices Stainless steel screw-in security crown with crown protection
Bracelet Black rubber strap or stainless steel metal bracelet, both with security folding clasp with extension and Quick Strap Change
Water resistance 30 bar (300 m)
Movement Number Oris Calibre 400
Functions Centre hands for hours, minutes and seconds, date window at 6 o’clock, date corrector, fine timing device and stop-second
Accuracy -3/+5 seconds a day (within COSC tolerances)
Extra features Highly anti-magnetic
Winding Automatic
Power reserve 120 hours
Warranty* Extended to 10 years with MyOris sign-up. Applies to watch and movement. 10-year recommended service intervals.
