Oris Aquis depth gauge returns with a revamp

Emirates Business

The Oris Aquis Depth Gauge was hailed by the international press as one of the most innovative diving watches of the century when it was launched in 2013. It answered the challenge of how to build a depth gauge into a mechanical watch. It had a pioneering depth gauge function, developed and patented by Oris.
Marking the company’s 110-year heritage, Oris’s solution to producing a mechanical watch with a depth gauge was pragmatic, with an inlet in the crystal at 12 o’clock. Beneath that was a channel milled into the outside edge of the crystal covering the dial. The inlet allowed water into the channel, creating a watermark that corresponded to yellow depth gauge indications marked on the crystal, giving the diver a clear readout to a depth of 100 metres. Gaskets between the crystal and the case meant the watch was still water-resistant to 50 bar (500 metres).
The genius behind the function
was in the application of Boyle-Mariotte’s Law, which states that ‘pressure x volume = constant’. In the case of the Aquis Depth Gauge, this means that as a diver wearing the watch descends into the deep, pressure builds, compressing the volume of air in the channel and allowing water to enter the watch through the inlet.
This lateral, Oris-patented solution appeared surprisingly simple to some observers, but it’s typical of the Oris philosophy – to find a way of creating the best possible watch at the best possible price. The Oris Aquis Depth Gauge is a ‘real watch for a real person’, as the company strapline promises.
Now Oris has added a second version of the famous diver’s watch to its line-up. The new watch has a yellow rubber strap that features two additional ground-breaking Oris innovations –
the safety anchor that prevents the strap from breaking loose, even after a heavy impact; and the sliding sledge clasp, which enables the wearer to adjust the size of the strap without undoing the clasp.
The watch’s 46mm steel case
has a resilient, sporty black DLC finish, and the unidirectional rotating bezel inlay is made of tungsten, a material as hard as emerald. Oris’s automatic Calibre 733, based on Sellita SW 200-1, beats inside the watch, powering a date window at 6 o’clock and a power reserve of 38 hours.
Product Features include automatic movement Oris cal. 733, based on Sellita SW 200-1, with date window at 6 o’clock, multi-piece 46mm stainless steel case, screw-in case back and crown protection with black DLC coating, water-resistant to 50 bar/500 metres, diver’s unidirectional revolving top ring with tungsten inlay and minute scale, protected screw-in crown with black DLC coating, sapphire crystal, double domed with antireflective coating on both sides, featuring a milled channel that allows water into the watch as part of the depth gauge function. Yellow metre scale read off against watermark in channel milled into sapphire crystal, black dial with applied indices and Nickel hands, both with white Super-LumiNova® inlay, Yellow rubber strap with Oris-developed safety anchor and quick adjustment sliding-sledge folding clasp, and set includes waterproof case, additional black rubber strap and strap-change tools.