Oris has been on a bronze rampage over the past year, with attractive releases such as the limited edition Carl Brashear calibre 401 and “Fratelloris” Big Crown, as well as the standard production Cotton Candy collection of Sixty-Five divers. While the material has become less of a novelty move for manufacturers, I fully welcome the burgeoning trend. Bronze can provide the feel of a gold aesthetic at a much lower cost, and depending on its composition can either develop an interesting character over the course of time or retain its precious lustre. Yesterday, Oris introduced bronze in another segment of their catalogue. Having already tackled chronographs and divers, now they look to the skies with their new Oris Big Crown ProPilot Big Date Bronze – a standard production entry into the aviation-inspired line.While “Big” is part of its nomenclature, it is by no means unreasonable in size and actually quite wrist manageable. Its 41mm bronze case, 12.4mm thick and 49.3mm lug-to-lug, is primarily satin-brushed throughout, with the only polished element being the bezel. The upper ring of the bezel is mirror-polished, but it then breaks to a second fluted ring with a turbine-inspired pattern to tie into the aviation theme. While a Pilot’s watch, it does have a solid degree of water-resistance with a depth rating of 100 metres further backed by its big bronze screw-down crown.Beneath the double AR-coated sapphire crystal, you have a matte black dial with contrasting white numerals and luminescent hand coatings that cater to the legibility an aviation watch requires. The familiar strong Arabics of the ProPilot have a rather modern typeface, but the golden accents of the printed indices, outers minutes track and dial text inject vintage sensibilities into its aesthetic. Similar to the original Tudor Black Bay Fifty-Eight, the bronze matching golden tones of the dial have a pseudo-gilt effect in its appearance. While I would be interested to see the watch have numerals and hand coatings that also leveraged golden tones, I concede that the white used is definitely better suited for its legibility as I mentioned before. As a Big Date, you have a calendar complication at 3′ comprised of a white on black date disc that blends well into the dial.The Oris Big Crown ProPilot Big Date Bronze is outfitted on a green Ventile? strap with bronze lift' folding clasp, a pairing befitting of a Pilot’s watch considering its military-like textile texture and drab olive tone. The stainless-steel caseback exhibits the Sellita SW220-1 based Oris manufacture calibre 751 through a mineral glass crystal. It is a reliable and shock-resistant no frills automatic calibre, offering 38 hours of power reserve off of the wrist.Oris Big Crown ProPilot Big Date Bronze pricing and availability:The Oris Big Crown ProPilot Big Date Bronze will is available now via Oris and their Authorized Dealers. Price: $2200 USD
13.10.21