Dive watches are one the most popular categories in the watch world and, without surprises, Baselworld wrapped up with plenty of new models to sate aficionados… If these comply with strict standards, you do not need to be a diver to love these utilitarian tools. They make great daily wearers on the dry land too. Here are some of the best dive watches with 10 models that particularly caught our eye at Baselworld 2019.
We often hear that trends are an endlessly repetitive cycle. They come, they go and then they come back again. And, like or not, watchmaking cannot escape trends. Look at the array of luxury sports watches or gradient dials introduced recently. So what are the main trends for 2019? One one side we have two-tone […]
There’s no denying that Oris is good at creating tool watches. Last year’s theme for the brand was clearly the pilot’s watch, with several very nice introductions, such as the Big Crown Pointer Date. For Baselworld 2019, Oris goes back to another theme it masters – dive watches. And to add another layer of cool […]
Oris continues to ride the bandwagon of environmental conservation and has recently partnered with Pacific Garbage Screening, a pioneering German organisation committed to ridding our oceans of plastic. To promote the partnership, Oris is releasing a limited edition 39.5mm Aquis Date diver model with an aqua blue dial and a medallion on the caseback made […]
Protecting the oceans, as well as water (and everything living in it) in general, has become a recurring goal for Oris, with frequent launches of limited editions of its dive watches linked to a good cause – think Aquis Date Relief, ‘Source of Life’ Limited Edition or Clipperton Limited Edition. Following its tradition of adding […]
The Oris Aquis Date needs no introduction anymore. It is one of those relatively affordable automatic watches that we often cover, here at MONOCHROME. Performing both at the office or at the beach, the recent facelift operated by Oris gave this watch an even more desirable look, without jeopardising its diving capacities. Usually spotted in […]
With the new Aquis Date Relief, Oris continues a thing that has become sort of a tradition, a special edition watch attached to a good cause. Certainly, there is a lot to love in this new edition – it is, after all, an Aquis with a cool new colour scheme – but the most important […]
There’s no denying that Oris has a strong background in diving watches. While recent introductions where more “lifestyle” (yet very good) watches, the brand today makes a comeback to rugged, professional-oriented, purpose-built watches. An evolution of Oris’ high-performance ProDiver watch, made for professional divers, this new piece proves that a chronograph can be a proper diving tool too. Say hello to the Oris Dive Control Limited Edition, featuring a practical safety device for the bezel and a water-resistance of “just” 1,000m.
Let’s make things clear! When Frank founded MONOCHROME over 12 years ago, the main objective was to create “an online magazine dedicated to fine watches”. That meant the celebration of traditional, high-end watchmaking. However, we are very much aware that most of our readers can’t afford such pieces and we are very much aware that accessible, down-to-earth, good price/quality watches are important. Yet, lower prices often mean lower quality – but not for us.
For this reason, we will publish several price-oriented buying guides until the end of the year, listing our favourite watches of 2018 – thus, each will be able to find the right watch according to his budget. Starting today, here are our 10 best watches of 2018 priced under EUR 2,000 – and well below that for some of these watches! And because you’re reading MONO, they are, of course, all mechanical timepieces. Believe it or not but “enamel dial”, “in-house movement”, “chronometer” or “annual calendar” are even part of this buying guide!
Oris launched a significant pilot’s watch back in 1938 and it’s become one of the brand’s iconic pieces. The original Big Crown Pointer Date had an oversized crown to allow easy adjustments for airmen with gloves. It also had the original date complication (patented in 1915 by A. Hammerly) that used a central pointer hand instead of the familiar date window (also patented by A. Hammerly). The watch was an affordable, reliable tool for pilots and has remained in production for 80 years. During the “Quartz Crisis” of the 1980s, the Big Crown Pointer Date helped Oris weather the storm and remain relevant, and is arguably the most important line in their portfolio. The company is celebrating this remarkable achievement with a special 40mm bronze edition with a green dial. This follows the bronze 36mm Big Crown Pointer Date that launched back in March of 2018.