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Oris Big Crown Cervo Volante

Serious Horology for a Good Cause

Oris is the type of watch brand I was enamored with even before getting hands-on experiences with their watches. (My first in-the-metal adventure was made possible thanks to a good friend who loaned me his Divers 65 a few years back.) Though recently I was able to take their latest release, the Divers Date, for a spin, which felt like a true privilege as well as being a potential window into the future for me—the Divers Date now claims the title of being my new grail watch. I knew deep down that there was something about Oris that would resonate with me, and after a few conversations with their French retail team and now handling a second model, I know what it is: these folks care about two things which are also dear to me—authentic horology and the preservation of our natural world. And both can coexist authentically as we will see later on. 


Today we’re going to take a look at the Big Crown Cervo Volante, a special but not limited edition of the brand’s iconic pilot watch with a clever, and sadly rare, pointer date complication. (Why oh why don’t we see more of these? Why oh cruel world?) According to Oris’ website, there are currently 29 versions of the Big Crown which come in various case diameters, materials, and colors. And the Cervo Volante edition comes in three dial colors—grey, teal, and this gorgeous green—complete with matching straps. It retails for roughly $2,300 USD and is shipped on a deer skin leather band which we’ll also get back to later on. I can already tell you that I like this watch very, very much because it’s unique to Oris, it’s legible and comfortable to wear, and built equally well which makes this model the type of watch you could call a GADA or everyday wear. 


Am I becoming an Oris fanhuman? Perhaps I am. 



Specifications


A slightly younger version of me dreamed of owning a 36mm version of the Big Crown because I love smaller watches. The version which had a gray dial which, I believe, was also a special edition for Movember but I could be wrong. But recently I’ve been ok with slighly larger watches (and sometimes straight-up large watches) because my slow brain realized that bigger generally means tougher, as in better specs, higher water resistance, and sometimes extra tech to protect the movement against shocks and magnetism. Well, we don’t have the latter two items on the Big Crown Cervo Volante but we do get a decent 50 meters of water resistance (actual 5ATM since the crown and case-back screw down,) a double-domed sapphire crystal on top and a flat sapphire crystal at the bottom, generous applications of green glowing SuperLuminova on the hands and printed hour markers, as well as quick-release spring-bars for the strap. So far so good. 



Though I used to wish for a 36mm version of this watch, the current version actually wears really well on my 6.50”/16.5cm wrist. A 38mm case diameter is complemented by lug-to-lug distance of 45.22mm, a thickness of 12.3mm, and a lug width of 19mm. (Hey, I don’t mind the odd numbered lug width because it’s proportionally perfect here.) Though it has rather modest-ish dimensions, the Big Crown Cervo Volante commands a good wrist presence because the lugs are long and thin and because the dial + bezel combo is visually striking. The fully polished coin-edge fixed bezel is what my eyes see first even before seeing the dial—and the latter says “Hey, look at me I’m different” for having a now rare juxtaposition of a cathedral handset, rounded Arabic numerals, and a complex minute track which frames the date numerals. After all, the Big Crown is a pilot watch and therefore is legible. (By the way the “big crown” measures 7.2mm in diameter.) 



Last but not least, the Big Crown Cervo Volante is equipped with an Oris caliber 754 which is based on a Sellita SW200-1 with a pointer-date module added to it, ticks at 28,800 BPH (4Hz) and comes with 41 hours of power reserve. 



Design


Even before knowing about the Cervo Volante or Movember special editions of this collection, I was immediately attracted to it thanks to its unique design. Because it’s not everyday that we see cathedral hands, except for a few Seiko models, which in addition to looking old school—though I wouldn’t recommend anyone limiting the entire nature of their design to looking old—are darn elegant and legible. Akin to the Rolex Mercedes hour hand, one of the visual and practical benefit of this handset is the fact that one can easily tell the hour hand from the minute hand when both are stacked vertically, since the hour hand is wider than the minute hand and the latter is longer than the former. Though I wonder if this has actually ever mattered to anyone since we can easily tell the time regardless of where two stacked hands are on the dial. But I digress. 




From what I know, the design of the Oris Big Crown hasn’t changed in decades and the whole concept is faithful to the first Big Crown which Oris released in 1938. This is interesting as this model actually was one of the first watches to be specifically created for pilots, to be legible and practical to use whilst wearing gloves. (Hence the big crown.) Its design predates many other iconic models from other Swiss brands, like the Rolex Explorer 1, Submariner, and Daytona, or the Omega Seamaster and Speedmaster, or the myriad of integrated bracelet sports watches which have been over-marketed and homaged too many times. Honestly, even though I had known of Oris for many years, and that I was aware of a couple of its core collections such as the Big Crown Pointer Date and Divers 65, I had no idea some of its designs were created so many decades ago which to me shows Oris is not the type of brand to brag about its accomplishments. 


This matters to me and perhaps it does to you as well. 



So in addition to the cathedral handset, we find a fully polished needle seconds hand and a fourth hand that points at date numerals on the periphery of the dial which is complemented by a color-matched triangle which perfectly surrounds each date numeral. This element seems to be gently cradling each option for the date of the month in a way that is extremely satisfying to look at. Moreover, the date numerals have a soft and rounded character which are legible and pleasing to see, and whilst small, the date numerals are for me legible even at a short distance. The minute track is indeed busy but thoughtfully designed, having small triangles to highlight the 5-minute or 1-hour increments, and doubled rectangular markers at the twelve. All elements combined, the Oris Big Crown Cervo Volante looks elegantly utilitarian and authentically purpose-driven. 



The Heart of the Matter


At the heart of the matter are two things. First, the fact that the Big Crown is a model that has been in production for nine decades which indicates its design has worked, works, and will continue to work as long as Oris exists. There are but a rare few models which can claim this extreme longevity and again, Oris doesn’t dangle this historical fact in front of journalists and collectors with vicious pride. The Swiss brand humbly continues to make good watches which last, an unknown fact which has contributed to creating the superb reputation the brand has. The Big Crown Pointer Date is a fabulous model which comes with its own design language that marries elegance and functionality in ways which are subtle and too rare to see nowadays. It’s actually classy as in it is classic and not ostentatious. Being able to achieve such a horological feat demonstrates the attention with which Oris designs and manufactures its watches. 



The second heart of the matter is Oris’ dedication to preserving earth’s natural habitats and all their inhabitants which the Cervo Volante special edition embodies. A few years back the brand grouped all of its ongoing efforts into a program called Change for the Better through which it has worked with many nonprofit organizations all around the globe. The Cervo Volante edition was made in partnership with an organization of the same name which aims at up-cycling deer skins which would have otherwise ended up being burnt to ashes. In Switzerland the Government monitors and regulates the wild red deer populations by killing a significant number of individuals each year to protect the forests. Red deer are said to eliminate or retard the growth of many species of young trees, shrubs, and herbs, therefore destabilizing ecosystems. I hope you are enjoying this lecture on nature and what Cervo Volante does because I’m having a good time telling you about it. 



By the way, I said all of this because it was important for me share what Cervo Volante is and how it’s connected to Oris and this superb pilot watch. And I felt it necessary to put the deer skin leather strap into context here. According to Oris and Cervo Volante, making watch straps (and other accessories for that matter) out of deer skin is good for the environment as no animals are being raised for that purpose and because the straps are processed in 100% environment-friendly tanneries in Switzerland. I do like speaking about brands that do good things such as Lōcī with the Pacific Coast Highway and Prevail with the Onward Field Watch



Conclusion 


I hope I didn’t loose you in the past three paragraphs. If you came here for the watch as a watch nerd, then now you know the Oris Big Crown Cervo Volante is an authentic, practical, legible, and capable pilot and tool watch. It comes with its own design language and impressive heritage and makes for a unique option for everyday wear. And if you came here also because you’re generally interested in Oris, the brand, and what it does for the world, then you’ll also be pleased to know that this model is in line with the brand’s nonprofit goals. At the end of the day, there aren’t many brands and watches which come with so much (underrated) legacy and I would argue that $2,300 USD is a fair price for what you get when put side-to-side with the Swiss competition. 


I suggest perusing Oris’ entire catalog by hoping on the brand’s website and to perhaps find your ideal Big Crown by checking out the 29 versions of the collection here.


Thanks for reading. 

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