Introducing: The Refreshed Oris Aquis Chronograph
What We Know
When in the market for a serious dive watch at a seriously attractive price, the Oris Aquis always comes up in conversation. Continuously producing fans (fanatics in the true sense of the word) and various iterations on a theme, today, the Aquis family welcomes a redesigned chronograph. New for Geneva Watch Days 2024, the Oris Aquis Chronograph offers tweaks that should hit the right notes for both the most ardent collectors of the brand and the greater watch community.
While the Divers Sixty-Five collection plays the hits with vintage-inspired aesthetics, the Aquis line has always served as Oris’s modern tool watch. But the real magic of what Oris is doing with the Aquis as of late is in the details. In 2024, watch lovers don’t need a borderline hulking diver to feel thoroughly modern. The key is to find a balance of wrist presence and wearability. Oris did this masterfully with an update to the Aquis Date in April of this year, and today, with the Aquis Chronograph, we see the same playbook at work.
The main focus here is the downsized case footprint of 43.50mm in diameter by 16.2mm in thickness– clearly aiming for that substantial yet wearable sweet spot. Compared to the previous generation at 45.5mm by 18.5mm, the change is material. The new Aquis Chronograph brings a “smiley face” sub-register layout (three, six, and nine o’clock) to the core catalogue, building off the look of the 2019 Blue Whale LE. In line with the Aquis Date revamp, the case and bezel have been tweaked to be lighter on the eye, and the bracelet has been tapered slightly. The relatively smaller size and slight case tweaks result in a lug-to-lug measurement of 51mm versus the previous 54mm. A ceramic insert fills the uni-directional rotating bezel, and, as any Aquis should be, water resistance sits at 300 meters.
Inside is the Oris caliber 771 (Sellita SW 510 base), which is the same caliber as the 2019 LE and the same base as the previous-gen Aquis Chronograph. Yet, this time, the power reserve has been upped to 62 hours rather than 48 hours. A date window is somewhat covertly placed at six o’clock in a roughly color-matched tone to the gradient blue dial.
The new Oris Aquis Chronograph is available now, not limited, for CHF 4,400.
What We Think
I’ve been referencing previous iterations of this model throughout, and it’s worth making clear that it has been a few years since we saw an Aquis Chronograph. The Blue Whale LE featured a similar dial as the watch we have today (albeit with a 4:30 date window) but was only available as a part of a three-watch, 200-piece (each) set. Before that, the last-gen “standard” Aquis Chronograph featured a 12, six, and nine o’clock sub-register layout. Both were housed in that larger case, spec’d out above. A multi-year lull in Aquis Chronographs makes today’s release all the more intriguing.
Oris is smart to give this model another try in light of recent tweaks to the larger Aquis collection, specifically those case and bracelet changes. The new Aquis Chronograph slots in perfectly, aimed at the same Oris fans who are drawn to the new Aquis Date models while serving as the aesthetic counterpart to the Divers Sixty-Five Chronograph.
The Basics
Brand: Oris
Model: Aquis Chronograph
Reference Number: 01 771 7793 4155-07 8 23 01PEB
Diameter: 43.5mm
Thickness: 16.2mm
Case Material: Stainless steel
Dial Color: Gradient blue
Indexes: Applied
Lume: Indexes and hands filled with white Super-LumiNova
Water Resistance: 300m
Strap/Bracelet: Multi-piece stainless steel metal bracelet with Oris-patented security folding clasp with fine adjustment and extension
The Movement
Caliber: Oris 771
Functions: Center hands for hours, minutes, and chronograph seconds, subsidiary dials for continuous seconds and 30-minute and 12-hour counters, fine timing device and stop-second
Diameter: 30mm
Thickness: 13.25mm
Power Reserve: 62h
Winding: Automatic
Frequency: 4Hz
Jewels: 27
Pricing & Availability
Price: CHF 4,400
Availability: Now
Limited Edition: No
For more, click here.
Hodinkee
