Why the Oris Big Crown Pointer Date will always be at my side.
'm one of those people who can feel connected to objects. It might be a pen, a knife, a lighter or a watch. My Oris Big Crown Pointer Date (BCPD) is one of the best examples. I've been wearing it for almost a year now, and I can say a real bond has formed.
Before I tell you why this watch matters to me, let's go over the more conventional aspects.
The watch is 40 mm in diameter, 48 mm lug to lug and 12 mm thick with its domed sapphire crystal. These dimensions make it wearable by most women and men.
The brushed lugs are curved just enough to hug your wrist very gently. There is one small quibble, though: they aren't drilled. On paper, there's a good reason for this. The watch comes on a leather strap fitted with quick-release spring bars. That makes sense, but for anyone wanting to fit another strap with classic spring bars, drilled lugs would have been useful.
The screw-down crown is discreetly signed and easy to use thanks to its shape and fine knurling. It gives a real sense of quality and durability. Setting the time and date is a pleasure.
A word about the leather strap: the quality is there, no doubt about it. It has a soft feel and a nice taper from 20 mm down to 16 mm at the buckle. The colour of the original strap is light brown, or beige, which isn't the best choice in my opinion. I went for the exact same strap but darker. I'll come back to that later.
The fluted bezel sets the Oris BCPD apart from the brand's other models. It lends a lovely vintage vibe, catches the light subtly and, not insignificantly, resists scratches well.
The sapphire crystal will delight any (double-) domed-glass geek. If it's distortion you want, you'll get plenty. It bends the hands and Arabic numerals very satisfyingly, depending on the viewing angle. It's always a pleasure to move the watch around and watch how it plays with the light.
The cathedral hands are brushed and catch the light very easily. Filled with Super-LumiNova C3, they let you tell the time in the dark.
As for the movement: nothing fancy. The watch runs on the Oris 754, based on a Sellita SW 200-1. So no in-house movement here, but that's no problem given the price range. It also makes the watch easier to service for your favourite local independent watchmaker. The display case back lets you admire the movement, in particular the red rotor, something of an Oris signature.
This dial deserves your attention.
Let me tell you a little story about it. It's January 2020, and my 30th birthday is coming up in May (it's never too early to think about a birthday gift, right?). The perfect occasion for a new watch. I went to the Oris Paris boutique to try a few on, notably the BCPD 80th Anniversary: a pure beauty with real character, thanks to its bronze case, green dial and golden hands. A perfect match. Then I saw the watch that would become mine. It wasn't love at first sight, though. I went home. Surprisingly, the more time passed, the more the blue-dial model took precedence over the 80th Anniversary. A few days later, I returned to the boutique with my girlfriend. She loved the bronze version but showed no enthusiasm for the blue one. I thought, "I love the bronze version, but will I love it the way I do today in one, five or even ten years?" I looked at the blue dial and something very simple struck me. I asked to try the blue-dial version on a dark brown leather strap. At that very moment, I discovered all the charm and timelessness of this blue dial. It was clear that the original strap, or rather its colour, didn't do justice to the richness of the dial.
I say "blue dial", but it's actually blue-grey, or grey-blue. Even today, I can't quite decide. That's what makes the dial so appealing. It can be really bright in the first morning light and turn dark grey by the end of the day.
What also makes the dial a success are the white Arabic numerals, again filled with Super-LumiNova (weaker than the hands), which match the dial perfectly by contrasting just enough. Around the edge of the dial, a railway-track minute scale lets you read the minutes precisely, once more with a luminescent dot every five minutes. The date numbers run along this track and are indicated by the dedicated pointer hand. This date complication might be seen as outdated (if I may say so), but I think it still has its place today. It also gives the dial its symmetry and brings a touch of colour with its red tip.
Anywhere, anytime.
I'd say anywhere, any time. The Oris BCPD, this blue-dial version especially, is versatile enough to come along in plenty of situations. Its water resistance is fairly modest at 50 metres, but the screw-down crown gives enough confidence for outdoor activities (nothing too rough, mind). It's light and well balanced.
As I mentioned earlier, I preferred wearing it on a dark brown leather strap rather than the beige one. The real strength of this Oris, though, is its ability to take a wide choice of straps. I love wearing it on a NATO strap, nylon, seatbelt or leather, which gives the watch a real adventurer's edge.
My special bond.
This watch is special for many reasons. I can already say it has a history of its own. My girlfriend helped me choose it and gave it to me. That's the first and most important part of the story. What's more, she gave it to me for my 30th birthday. You might say there's nothing unusual about a girlfriend giving her boyfriend a watch for his birthday. The thing is, I was born on 16 May. In France, people had been in lockdown (the first one) since March. The weekend of 16 May 2020 was the first after lockdown ended, the first weekend we were allowed to venture further than our local grocery shop. With the help of the Paris boutique staff, my girlfriend managed to get the watch during that lockdown, despite the closed boutiques and the complicated shipping conditions.
To conclude, I'd simply recommend going to a boutique, trying this particular watch on your wrist and seeing what happens next.
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