Oris Aquis Date Calibre 400, with the Brand’s New Movement

A couple of weeks ago, we covered the launch of the new Oris Calibre 400, a powerful automatic movement with a five-day power reserve, anti-magnetic components and a 10-year warranty. Today Oris reveals the proud bearer of its new movement: the Oris Aquis Date Calibre 400. The Aquis Date is respected as a top-quality, high-performance dive watch with a versatile, contemporary design. The largest 43.5mm Aquis Date model has been singled out as the first watch to carry Oris’s new automatic movement. Apart from its muscular movement, there are a couple of upgrades that position this Aquis Date Calibre 400 in a league of its own.

Pragmatism

Oris is a pragmatic brand offering resilient, purpose-built dive, pilot and sports watches that get the job done in style without breaking the bank. To keep its competitive prices, Oris conceives and develops its movements in-house, but leaves the production to specialised third-party Swiss manufactures. Like the powerful 10-day, hand-wound Calibre 110, conceived in-house by Oris and used in its high-end models, the Oris Calibre 400 is a proprietary manufacture movement. Developed entirely in-house by COO Beat Fischli and his team, it is produced by a network of suppliers with state-of-the-art industrial techniques.

The directives for the new calibre were to increase power reserve, counter the magnetism encountered in everyday situations, and produce a ‘new standard’ in durable automatic movements that could boast a 10-year warranty. To extend the autonomy of the watch, Calibre 400 is fitted with twin barrels and the rotor is placed on a more reliable, low-friction, slide-bearing system that only winds in one direction. Using silicon for the anchor and escape wheel, along with non-ferrous material for the axes, escape wheel and anchor, the impact of magnetic fields on the movement was reduced by more than 90%. Confident of the performance of the new Calibre 400, Oris offers a 10-year warranty and 10-year recommended service intervals, which means that if you buy the watch now, you won’t have to bring it in for service until 2030.

distinguishing features

The Oris Aquis Date, with 40 models currently in the collection, is a reliable, high-performance dive watch with 300m water-resistance and a contemporary design. Refined over the years with design tweaks to the case, offered in three case sizes (43.5mm, 41.5mm and 39.5mm) and donning attractive gradient dials, the Aquis Date is a bestseller for Oris.

At first glance, it’s hard to see whether the 43.5mm steel case of the Aquis Date has changed. The water-resistance remains at 300 metres, the unidirectional rotating bezel for immersion times is still fitted with a scratchproof ceramic inlay, and the robust case and integrated steel bracelet retain their powerful lines. The only salient external difference on the new Aquis Date Calibre 400 is that it is the first 43.5mm model with a blue bezel.

There are, however, three discreet changes that make this Aquis Date special. One upgrade regards the bracelet, which is now fitted with the patented DIY Quick Strap Change mechanism allowing you to change the exchange the strap for a bracelet, or vice versa, by simply lifting a flap. The other is the subtle 5 DAYS inscription under the AQUIS PRESSURE RESISTANT 30 BAR / 300M inscription, referring to the 5-day power reserve of the new movement and the last is the increase in size of the date window at 6 o’clock.

Calibre 400

The reverse side of the watch is where the action is and, as the brand points out, the sapphire crystal caseback is the largest ever installed on an Aquis Date. The large rotor with its low-friction, slide-bearing system (metal stud running through a lubricated sleeve), parts of the gear teeth of the twin barrels offering the 5-day power reserve and glimpses of the anti-magnetic silicon escape wheel and anchor are all visible through the caseback.

Availability and price

Available from November 2020, the Oris Aquis Date Calibre 400 comes with a choice of a black rubber strap or a stainless steel bracelet, both strap options fitted with a security folding clasp with extension and the Quick Strap Change mechanism. The price of the Aquis Date Calibre 400 with a steel bracelet is CHF 3,200 and with a strap CHF 3,100.

More information at Oris.