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Min. ReadIntroducing the third limited edition Oris model in collaboration with the Carl Brashear Foundation and the first one equipped with the brand's most advanced in-house automatic caliber - Carl Brashear Caliber 401 Limited Edition.
One of the most interesting categories in the world of watches is diving watches. With its designs that can be both sporty and stylish at the same time, the engineering details that are handled with durability and usability in the foreground cause diving watches to be met with great interest by all segments. While Oris benefits from the popularity of this category, it transfers its more than 100 years of watchmaking tradition to its new models. If we evaluate it on a brand basis, Oris continues its progress towards an unrivaled area in its price category, especially with the new models it has introduced one after another in recent years.
Oris Carl Brashear Caliber 401 Limited Edition is a model specially designed by the brand for the new generation diving watch concept. Besides being a new generation model, the nostalgic details on the watch make you feel the warmth of the 60s and 70s to the fullest. Well, after all, new doesn't always have to belong to the future. The bronze chosen as the case material is one of the best examples regarding these details. As it is known, bronze is a metal that oxidizes and darkens over time. You practically wear a living watch on your wrist. Don't worry, if you want to turn your bronze Oris back to the glamorous shade of pink right out of the box, a can of soda will come to your aid. (The acid in the soda removes the oxidized layer on the surface of the bronze and helps your watch regain its original tone.) The only comment that can be made for the diameter of the 40mm case is that it is perfect. Neither big nor small, just as it should be. The unidirectional bezel made of bronze is, of course, an indispensable part of a diving watch. Let me add that, the case is equipped with a domed sapphire crystal on the front side and is water-resistant to 100 meters. A diving watch and 100 meters water-resistance, well, that doesn’t sound right. I know, nobody is going to go to these depths with this watch, but...
The case back of the watch is made of stainless steel. There are two reasons for this. First of all, direct contact of bronze to the skin may cause allergic reactions. There is also the possibility that bronze will stain light-colored clothes. The other reason is that if the case back was also bronze, there was a possibility of oxidation or even sticking between the case and the case back. This situation would cause the watchmaker to have a hard time while opening the case back.
The model has a blue dial. The indexes and hands are in bronze tones that are perfectly compatible with the case. The small second's hand at 6 o'clock gives the watch a different feel.
Oris used the Caliber 401 movement, which was developed and produced in-house, in this model. The 24-jewels automatic movement beats at a frequency of 4Hz (28.800vph), and the power reserve time it offers when fully wound is set to 5 days, which is an exceptional value not only for Oris but also for industry standards.
The brand is so confident with their latest movement that they even extended the warranty period to 10 years. However, I have a criticism regarding the caliber. There is also a version of the same caliber, Ref. 400, with center seconds and date functions. In Ref. 401, there is this small second hand instead of the central second and no date feature. When you pull the crown to adjust the time, you encounter a two-stage adjustment option, just like the Caliber 400. However, on the first pull, the crown turns in vain because there is no date wheel to adjust. You can set the hour and minute by pulling the winding crown up to the second level. Yes, it is not a tremendous disadvantage, but I am sure that this small detail will not go unnoticed by other detail-freak watch enthusiasts like me.
The watch comes on a blue, elastic fabric strap with a single bronze strip in the middle. The adjustment mechanism of the strap is useful, and its flexible structure provides great comfort on the wrist. However, flexible straps can cause excessive sweating on the wrist, especially on hot summer days. Fortunately, you can take advantage of an infinite number of straps to fit between the 20mm wide lugs.
Oris Carl Brashear Caliber 401 Limited Edition is limited to only 2000 units. The list price of the watch, which is offered for sale with a special presentation box, is set at CHF 3,900. Honestly, considering the limited-edition production as well as top of features such as the bronze case, in-house movement, and the Oris brand, I think that we are facing an extremely successful watch in terms of price/performance considering the market conditions.
