It’s been 80 years since Oris debuted the first Big Crown Pointer Date, a watch with an oversized crown meant especially for pilots. The Pointer Date displayed the date numbers on the periphery of the dial and used a fourth hand to point to the correct number. 80 years later, having survived several wars and the Quartz Crisis, Oris is still producing various iterations of this iconic timepiece, the most recent of which celebrates its birth in 1938.
The 80th Anniversary Edition is a bronze-cased, 40mm pointer date with automatic movement and a beautiful forest green dial on a dark brown leather strap with a bronze buckle. If you’re thinking to yourself that there has recently been a bronze-cased Oris Big Crown Pointer Date with a green dial, you are not wrong — the last version, however, was 36mm and used a paler shade of green for the dial, and featured a white-tipped pointer hand (the pointer hand on the 80th Ann. model is red).
While I haven’t been hands-on with the 80th Anniversary Edition, the non-limited Pointer Dates that debuted at Basel 2018 are some of my favorite watches of the year — they’re eye-catching, comfortable and affordable. While you’re gonna have to shell out a bit more cash for the 80th Anniversary ($2,000 as opposed to $1,900 for the non-limited bronze edition and $1,600 for the 40mm steel-cased model on leather), if you wanted a bronze version in 40mm and dig the dark green dial, $2k doesn’t seem like an unreasonable ask.
The best way to catch up on the day’s most important product releases and stories. Read the Story
Note: Purchasing products through our links may earn us a portion of the sale, which supports our editorial team’s mission. Learn more here.