Oris Aquis Lake Baikal Limited Edition

It is now well-established that Oris has a strong commitment to protecting the seas and waters around the world. While this might not be the natural mission of a watchmaker, the brand has undertaken to create watches that will help draw attention and help raise funds to support several environmental projects. See, for instance, the Oris Ocean Trilogy, the Great Barrier Reef III or the “Clean Ocean” Edition. Today, the brand has a new special project watch, dedicated to preserving the world’s largest source of freshwater,  the “Baikal”. Meet the new Oris Aquis Lake Baikal Limited Edition.

Oris’s mission to protect water moves to Siberia

Water is “the source of life” and, in our mission of protecting the environment, water plays a crucial role. It is thus vital to take care of water in general, whether to clean the oceans, to protect the poles or to make sure people can access clean water. According to a joint report by the World Health Organization and UNICEF last year, 785 million people still don’t have clean water close to home.

After joint ventures with multiple non-profit organizations, such as the Clean Water project, the Reef Restoration Foundation or the Coral Restoration Foundation, this Oris travels to Siberia with a mission to protect the world’s largest reserve of fresh water, the deepest lake on Earth with a depth of 1,642 metres, which also contains a staggering 20% of fresh water on Earth: Lake Baikal. Some 300 rivers flow into Lake Baikal, and it’s home to thousands of species of endemic plants and animals. But it’s under threat from man-made pollution, much of it created by careless industries.

For this reason, Oris has started a partnership with the Lake Baikal Foundation. Sales of the watch will help raise funds in support of “Point No.1”, a Lake Baikal conservation project run by the Scientific Research Institute of Biology at Irkutsk State University that’s also the longest-running and most detailed environmental water-monitoring project in scientific history. “Point No.1” is supported by the foundation.

The Oris Aquis Lake Baikal Limited Edition

Naturally, as a watch dedicated to a project of this nature, this new edition is based on a dive watch, the classic, technical and robust Aquis Date model – which has been revamped in 2017. For the occasion, the base model is the men’s version, with a 43.50mm diameter stainless steel case, brushed and polished.

The unique features of the Oris Aquis Lake Baikal Limited Edition are the dial and the bezel, which have been made using the colours found on Lake Baikal when it is frozen. In this instance, the ceramic bezel’s insert is presented in polished dark blue with an engraved 60-minute diving scale. Even more noticeable is the gradient dial, which is “frozen” light blue in its centre and dark blue on the edges. The dial features metallic hands and applied markers, all filled with Super-LumiNova.

Powering this Oris Aquis Lake Baikal is the classic, well-known and robust Calibre 733, based on the Sellita SW 200 ébauche. It runs at 4Hz and provides energy to the watch for 38 hours. It displays H-M-S and the date. The watch is worn on a 3-link stainless bracelet with folding clasp and diving extension.

Finally, another unique feature on this Oris Aquis Lake Baikal is its caseback. In addition to the special engravings and limited edition number, the caseback features a Lake Baikal insert, which depicts a recreation of icy water.

Price and availability

The Oris Aquis Lake Baikal Limited Edition (reference 733 7730 4175) is a limited edition of 1,999 pieces – a reference to the year Russia passed the Baikal Law. It will be available in stores in February 2020 and priced at CHF 2,250 or EUR 2,150. The watch is delivered in a special presentation box made of environmentally friendly cardboard.

More details at baikalfoundation.ru and oris.ch.