The Oris Big Crown Propilot X Calibre 115
photo: oris
For the Big Crown ProPilot X Calibre 115, Oris’s watchmakers took the spirit of Calibre 110 and imagined a fully skeletonised Oris movement. Traditionally, skeletonisation provided a window for a watchmaker’s talents, but this movement had higher ambitions. It had to reconnect people to how things work. That’s what makes contemporary modernism so interesting. People are longing for a time when they could understand how things work. The Big Crown ProPilot X Calibre 115 lays bare its inner workings. Nothing is hidden. Even the barrel at 12 o’clock is skeletonised so you can see the extended mainspring. Winding the crown, you watch on as the mainspring coils tighter... and tighter... until it’s fully wound and ready to deliver 10 days of uninterrupted power.
photo: oris
Nothing deflects from this. There is no varnish, no unnecessary decoration. Caliber 115’s skeletonised bridges are matt grey, rather than polished or engraved. Look at the movement under a loupe and you will see the edges have not been chamfered or beveled. Instead, they have been left in their natural state. There is nothing obscuring the essence of traditional Swiss watchmaking. It is, if you will, as nature intended. Not that it’s old-fashioned. Inspired by the striking aesthetic of the movement, Oris’s designers created a bold, dynamic case that captured both the company’s pilot’s watch history – which began in the early 1910s and took off with a pilot’s wristwatch with a ‘big crown’ in 1917 – and the future relevance of mechanical watchmaking.
photo: oris
It is not shy to tell its story. The resulting brushed titanium case is equally honest. Fundamentally, its design is descended from that 1938 original, supplemented by the jet engine turbine blade motif introduced into the Big Crown ProPilot’s bezel only a few years ago. It’s based on a traditional concept, but future-driven. It’s muscular and assured. It shows Oris’s watchmaking competence and its confidence as the Swiss watch industry prepares for a new decade. It also explains the evolution of luxury. Luxury is no longer showy or indulgent. It’s now about appreciation of quality, time and space. At Oris, we call it casual luxury, which isn’t forced or inconsiderate. It’s measured and informed. It’s authentic.
photo: oris
That’s why there are no unnecessary details in the watch. No ashy color palette. No pointless complications. It’s essential. It’s crafted. It’s alive. Who is the Big Crown ProPilot X Calibre 115 for? The wearer of this watch is on an adventure of discovery. They want to learn more about the world and themselves. They want access to a new level of understanding. That’s what it means to go your own way. And that’s why we say that the Oris Big Crown ProPilot X Calibre 115 is as nature intended. It is pure Oris.