It’s pretty crazy to think that the Big Crown Pointer Date has been in continuous production by Oris since 1938. Never afraid to evolve and change things up a bit, the Swiss watchmaker had the most recent update of the watch back in 2021, which polished the previously-fluted bezel and added a new in-house movement. In my humble opinion, the newest generation actually looks more like a vintage-inspired modern watch (which it is) rather than the latest in a long lineage of iconic watchmaking (which it also is).
For this year’s Watches & Wonders show in Geneva, Oris has debuted a couple of earthy dial colors of the Big Crown Pointer Date, proving that a new colorway alone can get our attention.
Color Is Everything
While the new watches don’t change anything in the way of construction, we do love their looks. Housed in the standard 40mm stainless steel case, the references come in either terracotta red or earthy green. Known for its long history with airline pilots, Big Crown Pointer Date is known for its small seconds subdial and a third “Pointer Date” hand that literally points to the date of the month, as listed around the outer circle of the dial.
Becoming one of our favorite watchmakers in terms of their use of color, Oris has also made the interesting, if not obvious, choice to match the tips of each pointer date hand with the dial color itself. In other words, the green dial has a green pointer and the red dial has a red pointer. Previous renditions have typically made this arrow a different color so that it stands out against the dial. They come affixed with either a stainless steel bracelet or a brown Cervo Volante leather strap.
Inside, you have Oris’ go-to Caliber 403 automatic movement, which debuted alongside the Big Crown Pointer Date refresh in 2021. Accurate to -3/+5 seconds per day, this is a five-day movement, meaning its power reserve lasts for a whopping 120 hours, and it also comes with a 10-year warranty.
More Colors But a Cheaper Movement
Prior to the quartz crisis of the ‘70s, Oris had over 270 in-house movements under its belt. But between the 1970s and 2014, the Swiss brand operated exclusively with outsourced calibers. However, since relaunching its Movement Creation Program in 2014, Oris has come out with about one in-house movement per year.
If the $4,100 price tag on the Big Crown Pointer Date Caliber 403 is too much to foot, Oris has also provided some cheaper models. Featuring an outsourced Sellita-based Caliber 754 automatic, there’s a trio of colorful dials, available in turquoise, yellow, and lilac. Oh yeah, and they’re about half the price at $2,300.
Like the green and red Caliber 403s, this matches the color of the pointer date hand to the dial color itself. However, unlike the 403, this Sellita-based version ditches the small seconds subdial in favor of a central second hand (four hands in total). Also, these sport the same 40mm stainless steel case sizing with the overall aesthetic.
Spec Sheet
Case Size: 40mm
Lug-to-Lug: 47.5mm
Case Thickness: 12.3mm
Case Material: Stainless steel
Water Resistance: 50m
Movement: In-house Caliber 403 or Sellita-based Caliber 754
Band: Stainless steel bracelet or brown Cervo Volante leather strap
Limited Edition?: No
Pricing & Availability
Not limited in edition size, the Big Crown Pointer Date Caliber 403 is priced starting at $4,100, while the Sellita-based version carries a $2,300 price tag. They’ll be available later this month from Oris.
Recap
Oris Big Crown Pointer Date 2025
Oris added some colorful dial options to the Big Crown Pointer Date collection, including a couple of earthy options for the Caliber 403 variant.
