Introducing the Oris 110 Years Limited Edition featuring Calibre 110 with 10-Days Power Reserve

Last year Oris already swept us off our feet, with the Aquis Depth Gauge, which features a depth gauge that is as simple as it is brilliant. This year Oris celebrates their 110th anniversary and they do it with the launch of a new in-house developed movement: Calibre 110. An new in-house developed hand-wound movement boosting 10 days of power reserve, at an unbeatable price. Sound very interesting, but will we be swept off our feet again? It looks promising!

Calibre 110 is Oris’ first in-house developed movement in 35 years and it will be launched in the Oris 110 Years Limited Edition. It will be available in stainless steel or 18K rose gold and will be limited to 110 pieces each! When you know the price level – CHF 5,500 in steel, and CHF 14,800 in 18K rose gold – you know they will be sold out within a matter of days. Our advice: read this article fast, pick up the phone and call your nearest Oris dealer to get hold of one!

If you follow Monochrome, you know that Oris is not a brand that we cover extensively. However if you wonder, we do like their timepieces, especially the Artelier collection and the many dive watches! However on Monochrome we mainly cover Haute Horlogerie, so we’ve been a bit reticent to write about most of their timepieces. With a value (and quality) proposition like these two Limited Editions however, we just had to share this with you.

A hand-wound calibre, which features a 10-day power reserve, and a patented non-linear power reserve indication, is something that we’re always interested in. Now this comes from Oris we’re absolutely intrigued. Oris’ own team of watchmakers and designers, worked with Swiss technical specialists and with L’École Téchnique Le Locle on the development for 10 years!

The result is actually very impressive. Imagine a new in-house developed hand-wound movement, with 10 days power reserve coming from one large main spring barrel. Interesting? Yes, for sure. Calibre 110’s edges are all hand-bevelled and hand-polished, which is something that we just love. However a movement like this can simply not be made and delivered for CHF 5,500. That would be impossible. Oris decided to make an optimal mix of an industrial approach and some hand finishing on the parts that matter. The bridges’ large surfaces retain their untouched industrial beauty.

Calibre 110 features a non-linear power reserve indication that indicates the amount of power remaining in the barrel from 10 days down to zero. The non-linear factor, means that as the power is released, the hand moves slowly at first, and then more quickly as the power reduces. This gives the wearer a far clearer indication of how much power is left in the watch as the moment to wind it approaches.

The use of a single main spring barrel is quite remarkable, because most movements with comparable power reserve, are equipped with at least two main spring barrels. Inside this barrel is a mainspring that would stretch to 1.8 metres if unravelled. The watch has been tested to ensure the power is delivered evenly throughout its 10-day cycle. Each calibre will be hand-assembled and tested in Oris’s Hölstein factory.

Calibre 110 finds a perfect balance, price-wise, between a very impressive hand-wound movement, and a very impressive price level.

Now a few words on the case and strap. This Limited Edition be available in a 43 mm large stainless steel or 18K rose gold, and each of the version is limited to just 110 pieces. The multi-piece case is entirely polished, is water-resistant to 3 bar (30m), and comes with a sapphire crystal with antireflection coating on the inside. The case back has a sapphire crystal pane, which allows a view on that impressive movement. Each watch comes on a Louisiana crocodile leather strap with a folding clasp that matches the case.

Now what are you waiting for? Head on over to the Oris website, find you nearest retailer, and secure one of the 220 pieces!