Oris has one of the most underrated pilot watch designs on the market in their ProPilot collection, and this week, it’s welcoming a big redesign to open up a new chapter. The new ProPilot Date introduces a new design that feels like an evolution of where the watch had been, retaining some of the more interesting features while layering in new details. Oris is introducing the watch in a trio of colorways in steel, and a fourth Desert Edition which gets a 3D printed carbon fiber case in a similar vein to the wonderful Altimeter. All four are sized at 41mm, and all four make use of a Sellita base movement.
Making a pilot watch that stands out is no small task, but Oris have managed to find a unique modern take on the design without losing sight of the simple formula that defines the genre. Each of the hour markers is represented on the dial, save for the six o’clock position which swaps the hour for a date aperture, revealing a color matched disc underneath. The chapter ring sits on an elevated portion of the dial, which is shaped to hold the hour plots, and this presents a notable bit of character to the otherwise sterile landscape. The legibility you’d expect of a proper pilot watch is here, with any extraneous design elements pushed to the extremities.
A coin edge bezel with an angled slot pattern transitions from dial to case, and this is a remnant of the prior generation carried over. This is a feature that works for me, as it reframes the dial to case ratio just enough to contain its size as a whole. At 41mm, these aren’t small watches, and when the dial pushes right to the edge, it can appear even bigger, and here, that detail at the bezel pushes back on that. This is a design that would work well at 39mm, and hopefully that move is in the cards for this collection as it develops.
Each of the dials colors on offer brings something unique to the table. All feature a rough texture and a relatively unexpected accent color with applied hour markers. The black dial welcomes red accents, while the sage and warm grey dials, as well as the Desert Edition, use a lighter orange tone. There are plenty of subtle details to enjoy up close with these watches, and they feel very well thought out as a result. This is a mature design that builds on the traits that made them unique to Oris in the first place, and it should be appreciated that Oris is leaning into that.
It’s worth noting that each of these watches uses a red rotor Sellita base movement, and not Oris’ own caliber 401. This decision keeps the price in more manageable territory of course, but it does beg the question of what exactly does the future of Oris’ in-house movements look like. The brand does seem to be sensitive to their market of buyers, and is able to balance the use of their own movements with that of Sellita based movements in a manner that keeps accessibility intact. I do imagine that we’ll see variations of the new ProPilot Date with an Oris movement at some point down the line, but I like the fact that they are establishing the new collection at this price point right out of the gates.
The new Oris ProPilot Date collection is available now, and is priced from $2,350 on a strap, and $2,550 on a bracelet. The Desert Edition with carbon case is priced at $3,500 and comes on a strap. Oris
