At the recently concluded Watches and Wonders Geneva 2024, Oris introduced its new Aquis Date, the next generation of the venerable Swiss watchmaker’s evergreen, everyday toolwatch.
The new Aquis Date is the brand’s representation of contemporary refined luxury—a modern versatile watch for people who value design, mechanics, sustainable manufacturing and the independent Swiss watchmaking spirit.
The Aquis is one of Oris’s signature designs and the new collection follows the footsteps of generations of toolwatches designed to be stylish, reliable, robust and high-performing, even deep underwater.
As before, this new generation brings numerous performance benefits to the wrists of watch lovers all over the world, including the Oris-patented Quick Strap Change system and a new innovation—the Oris-patented quick adjust clasp system—both of which appear on the flagship Aquis Date Calibre 400 43.50 mm five-day automatic models.
Typically, adjusting a metal bracelet isn’t possible without inserting or removing links – and a trip to the jewellers. The new, Oris-patented quick adjust clasp system (available only on Calibre 400 models) simplifies this process by allowing you to make quick and easy adjustments without taking your watch off. So now, whether you’re slipping in or out of a wetsuit, or just need to loosen or tighten your watch.
Oris also refreshed the Aquis Date Upcycle, the watch with a dial made of recycled PET plastic. The watch is another symbol of Oris’s Change for the Better program of sustainability initiatives. No two Upcycle dials are the same.
The new Aquis range also highlights Oris’s new radically sustainable packaging, another step in the Oris Emissions Reduction Program, an ambitious platform for change, which targets a significant reduction in Oris’s total global emissions. The Holstein-based brand is taking another step towards this goal with its new modular packaging, which is crafted from low-weight, low-volume, recycled and fully recyclable cardboard and paper. Oris was certified as a climate neutral company by ClimatePartner in 2021.
“Aquis is the cornerstone of our collection and a symbol of our joyfully sustainable approach to watchmaking,” said Oris Co-CEO Rolf Studer. “This new generation forms the next chapter in a great story that continues to make people smile.”
To the minutest detail
Every facet of the new Aquis collection has been reconsidered and upscaled to deliver a beautiful, desirable, high-performance watch that fuses numerous refinements in a perfect balance of form and function.
This begins with the case and the new Aquis Date’s visual profile and silhouette. The sculpted lugs and crown protection have been reworked, and the three-link metal bracelet has been skillfully redeveloped so that the central link is broader and the overall form more tapered, resulting in exquisitely and reassuringly balanced aesthetics and ergonomics.
The watch’s uni-directional rotating bezel and hard-wearing ceramic bezel insert have also been subtly reproportioned, while the dial is decorated with new polished shield-shaped applied hour markers and bespoke, Alpha-style hands, as well as new proprietary typography that will only ever feature on Aquis models.
All new-generation Aquis watches will have a date wheel with a background color to match the dial color and high-contrast text, creating a seamlessly coordinated relationship between the two while also protecting legibility.
There’s a bespoke 36.50 mm variant, as well as 41.50 mm model and the flagship 43.50 mm model, each in a variety of colors and powered by Calibre 733, a high-quality Swiss Made automatic.
For the new Aquis Date, Oris commissioned a bespoke typeface with an athletic, confident profile that will only appear on the dials of Aquis watches. Oris designers stressed the shape and profile of the new design’s Alpha hands and shield-like hour markers to mirror one another and to ensure rapid reference.
To make the bracelet more tapered, visually lighter and more contemporary—while protecting its muscular feel and robust performance profile—Oris designers reworked every link. The brushed center links become visually prominent.
While it’s been designed for everyday wear, the Aquis Date is also a high-performance dive watch. For the new model, Oris tapered the blocks on either side of the crown that protect it from accidental knocks.
Other signature Oris features include luminous material hands and indices filled with Super-LumiNova, top glass sapphire (domed on both sides with anti-reflective coating inside), case back stainless steel, and screwed, see-through mineral glass.
Upcycle and Change for the Better
The next chapter in the Aquis Date story is also the next chapter in Holstein’s Change for the Better program. The new Aquis Date collection will include four models that carry the ‘Upcycle’ name, extending a capsule collection that is widely recognized for its unique feature: dials made of recycled PET plastic.
According to the WWF, 8 million tons of plastic are dumped in our oceans every year, where it causes catastrophic damage to marine life. It’s understood that one in two turtles have eaten plastic mistaken for jellyfish, and that 90 percent of sea birds have plastic in their stomach. Horrifying statistics.
A watch with a recycled plastic dial won’t reverse that on its own: but it can serve as a symbol of the need for change. And that’s the role of the Aquis Date Upcycle.
The watch will remind wearers they did something good for the ocean, and to be mindful of their plastic consumption. It’s also a symbol of Oris’s Change for the Better program, which includes an ambitious carbon reduction scheme, community projects and a growing schedule of partnerships with organizations that share Oris’s vision for change.
The four Upcycle models follow the pattern of the Aquis collection: a flagship 43.50 mm piece with Calibre 400, and 43.50 mm, 41.50 mm and 36.50 mm versions powered by the Calibre 733 Swiss Made automatic. Each communicates the same important message: together we can bring Change for the Better.
Small is beautiful
One of the highlights from the new Aquis collection is the all-new 36.50 mm—a bespoke design with a series of special touches that give it a more glamorous feel.
First is its softer profile, which is enhanced by a narrower uni-directional rotating bezel with a hard-wearing ceramic insert engraved with baton hour markers. These create a lighter, gentler visual impact than the Aquis Date’s standard Arabic numeral minutes scale.
The same effect is created by a polished finish to the case, bezel edge, crown and crown protection and by the watch’s new H-design bracelet, which has been conceived exclusively for the Aquis Date 36.50 mm. Each H-link is polished and held in place by a brushed central link.
These run into the watch’s sculpted, now polished lugs. The effect is to make the watch feel more elegant and glamorous, without losing its purpose as an everyday tool watch. To emphasize this, the bracelet and strap options are all fitted with the ergonomic new Oris-patented Quick-adjust clasp system.
The watch will come in three colorways: in eternal black with a matching black ceramic bezel; with a crème mother-of-pearl dial that will be paired with a grey ceramic bezel; and a third Upcycle model with a recycled plastic PET dial.
The date wheels are color-matched to the dials for further refinement, while hour markers with diamond-shaped tips complete the look.
The Aquis Date 36.50 mm will be powered by Calibre 733, a high-quality Swiss Made automatic charged by the motion of Oris’s signature Red Rotor, visible through the watch’s case back.
Photos from Oris
