Hands-on with the Oris Aquis Date with a gradient blue dial – Specs & price

Apart from all those crazy, complicated, unaffordable watches, like the 420.000 Euros Breguet Tradition Minute Repeater Tourbillon or the Arnold & Son Constant Force, Baselworld also offers the chance to go over watches that we (meaning the normal people) can one day expect to have on the wrist, instead of just dreaming in front of it. After coming with a superb vintage-inspired Divers Sixty-Five, Oris also update one of its best sellers with a new dial. Here is the Oris Aquis Date with a gradient blue dial. No bullshit, just a cool affordable tool watch.

Of course we, at Monochrome-Watches, are all about a tourbillon, a constant force escapement or a crazy display. Those watches are dream-pieces, demonstration of a technical capacities and, unfortunately, timepieces that are more made to be posters in teenagers’ bedrooms than timepieces to be adorned on your roommate’s wrist. Of course, our goal here is to make you dream and to explain you the most complicated features that the industry is able to create. However, we’re like (most) of you – yes, we also have some of our readers that are huge collectors – and our pockets are more made for divers than for minute repeaters. That’s why we also need to consider the watches you (and us) are able to afford. Talking about dive watches, there is one that has to be deeply considered, a watch that could be sold with the motto “no bullshit, just a cool, solid dive watch that gives you a lot for your money”. It’s called the Oris Aquis Date and it comes this year with a very nice gradient blue dial – no, it’s not a Rolex Deepsea D-Blue.

To be simple, the Oris Aquis Date is all what a dive watch – and thus a proper tool, not a desk diver – should be. It is solid, quite massive, comes with only practical features (and nothing more) and it is made to be a trustful ally under the sea. You might think there are plenty of watches like this. From an Omega Seamaster 300 to a Rolex Submariner 114060 (ceramic no date), most of them shares the same specifications: a 300m water resistance, a ceramic insert, a solid bracelet with easy extension device, a unidirectional bezel with 60-minute scale, 3 hands, a very legible dial, an automatic movement… Well, in the world of dive watches, the main difference remains the name on the dial. This could easily be the case for the Oris Aquis Date, that shares all these attributes. This is true, however the Oris has something different, something that might interest you: it is priced at 1.400 Euros on rubber strap and 1.580 Euros on metallic bracelet. Interesting, isn’t it?

So, the Oris Aquis Date comes for a fraction of the price of an Omega Seamaster 300 (5.000 Euros) or a Rolex Submariner No Date (6.500 Euros) for roughly the same prestation: same depth rating, a very solid construction (you can feel it from the weight and the robustness of the bracelet) and an automatic 3-hand movement. It has a scrath-proof ceramic bezel, a screw-down crown protected by crown-guards, a 3-link bracelet both polished and satin-finished, an easy extension device on the deployment buckle. For Baselworld 2015, Oris features the Aquis Date with a superb blue dial that, considering the light, goes from a bright blue to a deep black – due to the sunburst pattern. It comes with polished applied indexes filled with luminous material, just like the hands.

The overall finish is, considering the price, very qualitative and feels like you’ll have this watch ready to dive for ages. Of course, it’s not as sharp and precise than a Rolex Sub, but it remains a pleasure to wear. The effect of the weight and the stiffness of the bracelet helps to feel this quality. Some details are also participating to this feeling, like for instance the indexes or the finishing of the dial. Don’t expect a quartz movement, as the Oris Aquis Date features an automatic Sellita SW-200 – an ETA clone – that is more that sufficient for a tool watch and that will last for years without any issue.

Design and aura of the brands appart, it’s hard not to think this watch is a superb deal, compared to an Omega or a Rolex. It has the same attributes – except a manufacture movement or some finishing details – for approximately 1/4 of the price. It’s a solid, well crafted, reliable, legible tool watch with a massive 43mm case – certainly 2 or 3mm too large but that’s what people are demanding actually – that stands for what it is, not less, not more. Oris is doing great watches for people that wants to pay the right price. Well done.