Independence is a fine word in watchmaking, especially when it is earned rather than shouted. Oris frames its latest release with that theme, and gives it a name to match: the Big Crown Pointer Date Bullseye. Set aside the slogans and you have something simpler and more interesting – a familiar design revisited with a graphic twist that hasn’t been seen in the catalog since 1998. After a nearly 30-year absence, the Bullseye returns not as a limited edition, but as a permanent fixture in the lineup.
The core idea is clear from the name. Big Crown points to a long-running silhouette that has been in constant production since 1938, when it debuted as Oris’s first dedicated pilot’s watch. That oversized crown wasn’t just style – it was designed so pilots could operate the watch while wearing gloves in their unheated cockpits. Pointer Date tells you how the calendar is read – by a hand indicating the date around the dial, a charming alternative to the small window so many of us tolerate. Bullseye signals the new take on the dial layout: a cool grey and black color scheme with concentric circles that creates a target-like appearance, inspired by Oris pocket watches from the 1910s.
There is comfort in continuity. The Pointer Date has always been about legibility and rhythm – time and calendar sharing the same stage without stepping on each other’s lines. In daily use, a pointer date rewards a quick glance and a small moment of interaction. You read, you feel the cadence of the hand sweeping its track, and you move on. No fanfare, just function with a touch of ceremony. Red detailing adds a visual punch without overwhelming the design.
At 38mm, this sits comfortably in that Goldilocks zone – not too large, not too small – with a compact lug-to-lug span of 45.5mm and 12.2mm thickness. The multi-piece stainless steel case features Oris’s signature fluted bezel and that oversized crown, which is more than just a design flourish. Inside ticks the caliber 754, a Sellita-based automatic movement running at 28,800 vibrations per hour with a 41-hour power reserve. It handles hours, minutes, seconds, and that pointer date with an instantaneous jump at midnight. The domed sapphire crystal gets anti-reflective coating where it counts (on the inside), and the see-through case back lets you admire the movement’s bright red Oris rotor at work.
Water resistance stands at 5 bar, which translates to about 50 meters. This is a watch for living, not diving, and that seems perfectly honest. The 19mm Cervo Volante strap deserves special mention – it’s made from sustainable deer leather sourced from Switzerland’s population control program, fitted with quick-release spring bars for easy swapping. These Big Crown models are proper strap monsters that look good on everything from leather to NATO straps.
Oris speaks of choosing your own path, and the Big Crown Pointer Date line has certainly walked its own route since before World War II. What matters to the watch on the wrist is that the familiar architecture remains intact while the Bullseye treatment offers a change of scenery. It is the sort of variation that respects the original idea – keep the character, refresh the mood.
If you already know the line, this reads as a considered update rather than a reinvention. If you are new to it, the pointer date complication is a gentle introduction to why traditional solutions still resonate. At $2,350 (CHF 1,950), it’s even priced slightly below similar models in the range, making it quite a value proposition. The message is tidy and the watch appears likewise. Independence is not noise. It is a steady hand, a clear dial, and a maker confident enough to iterate with restraint.
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