In the Pantheon of military and tool watches, the pilot watch occupies one of the most praised seats as it has been around for as long as field watches have, and actually predates them. The history of pilot watches places the first one in 1904 when Cartier made a special model for Brazilian aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont, though it looked nothing like what we consider to be a typical pilot’s watch today—to keep things simple, it was a Tank for the air. Not long after in 1909, French aviator Louis Blériot, wore one of the first Zenith Pilot’s watch when he crossed the English Channel. For all intents and purposes, the Zenith was a proper pilot’s watch for it had large hands, large Arabic numerals, and a large crown. There were a few more noticeable models that came after but everything became more streamlined and codified right before, during, and after World War II and ever since. 

So it is in this context that we continue our exploration of Oris’s core collections by turning our attention to the Big Crown ProPilot Big Date, a multi-word model name* which, although it is long, conversely and quite succinctly explains what we’re dealing with: a pilot watch with a big crown and a big date complication. End of the review. Actually there will be more to be said about this model as it is the brand’s proprietary take on the classical pilot’s watch, a modern one, but not Oris’s first foray into the genre. Indeed and actually, the Swiss brand was one of the first to make pilot-specific watches as early as 1938 by way of the first Big Crown which came with the iconic Pointer Date complication. The collection evolved over the decades and through the Quartz Revolution (let’s be positive folks and call it what it was!) and Oris introduced the ProPilot in 2014.

*Funny thing: the actual reference number is 01 751 7761 4063-07 8 20 08P. Damn it Oris. 

Specifications 

The Oris Big Crown ProPilot Big Date (phew) and I were meant to meet and spend time quality time together because it has most of the things I look for in a watch: an ultra legible dial that comes with a beautiful sense of utility and purpose, great specifications, gray-ish tones, and a splendid case which fits my French wrist quite well despite measuring 41mm in diameter, 49mm lug-to-lug, and 13mm thick. So it isn’t that big but it does appear so on account of having a large dial opening and relatively mid-sized Arabic numerals. I imagine this is how many IWC’s must fit and look like on my wrist although I haven’t had the privilege of gracing one with the contact of my enthusiast’s wrist. Though with that said, I was quite moved by how comfortable the ProPilot is thanks to its wrist-hugging profile we will get back to later.  

The important Big Date complication is quite neat and made possible by the Oris caliber 751 which is based on a Sellita SW220-1 caliber (hence the red rotor**) and ticks at 4Hz and comes with 38 hours of power reserve. But it should be noted that the date aperture is not as big as it is on a, say, Glashütte Original SeaQ Date Panorama for example, however it is larger than what we usually find on any type of tool watch. So relatively speaking, it is bigger than normal and just about the right size for yours truly. The dial I already gushed over a little bit is as clear to see as is the bottom of a fresh water sinkhole, protected by a double-domed piece of sapphire complete with several layers of anti-reflective coating, and the aforementioned movement is equally easy to see for the same reason, minus the AR coating. 

Perhaps it doesn’t seem necessary to lume such a large and clean dial, but should you need to fly commando at night then you’ll be happy to know that the hands and markers are filled with—I assume because it isn’t specified—BGW9 SuperLuminova. Not only are the Arabic numerals, in actuality, three-dimensional blocks of lume, but they are complemented by lumed hash-marks, doubled at the twelve, for an extra something of nighttime legibility. And like many modern and somewhat luxurious pilot watches, the Oris Big Crown ProPilot Big Date is equipped with a (not that big) screw-down crown and case-back to give this model 100 meters of water resistance. Which is helpful as it makes it a good all-rounder tool watch that will be as legible and functional 30,000 feet above sea level as it would be 330 feet below it. 

**A red rotor in an Oris indicates a Sellita-based caliber which is absent on in-house movements. 

Design

Alrighty then, we got a lot to talk about regarding the design so we better get started. And let us first return to the question of the date aperture and how big or not so big it is. It’s definitely larger than usual—than most divers, pilots, and GMT watches from the big names of the industry and the 1/2 million of micro/indy brands—and seems to be as large as the hour markers which creates balance as well as, indeed, make it possible to easily read the date. I personally love how Oris executed the integration of the date function here, not only because of its inherent legibility but also because it color-matched the date disc to the dial, actually making the former darker than the matte gray appearance of the latter. (I love the white-on-grey color scheme of this model.) So both singular and double-digit days are easy to comprehend at-a-glance and that’s all we need from a tool watch. 

And the ProPilot, like all proper aviation watches, is extremely legible but in a way that is its own and very Oris. First because the typeface used for the numerals seems to be bespoke to the brand and very similar (if not the same) as the one found on the Big Crown Pointer Date which is characterized by the roundness and perfect balance of each number. Note how the left arm of the “4” is domed and how the “1” is narrow. I don’t know how to describe the things that make up good typography but I certainly appreciate what I’m seeing here. The obelisk-shaped hour and minute hands of course contribute to the legibility, for they narrow down towards the tips but come out from the pinion strong with large and angled bases. And because their metallic contours are thin, the hands are easy to see even though they are polished because the large portions of lume—matte—offset the sun-reflecting polished areas. 

And then the case, a hero in its own right, with an engine-turned, propeller-like decoration on the bottom half of the fixed bezel (the upper half is polished,) and it seems that both parts are made separately which indicates how much attention Oris put into the design and manufacturing of this apparatus. I particularly appreciate how the knurking on the crown repeats the same pattern but at a contrary angle, which looks amazing as well as makes the crown easy to grip and operate. And this evident complexity of the crown and bezel construction is balanced by the simplicity of the case profile and finish, fully brushed, absent of chamfers (except for tiny ones on the outside of the lugs,) short lugs which turn down towards the wrist and such starting a few millimeters on either side of the crown, which makes the case sides appear like wings and create the wrist-hugging effect I mentioned earlier. 

The Heart of the Matter

I was glad to spend some time with the Oris Big Crown ProPilot Big Date for a couple of reasons. First because I was very much attracted by its design—clean and direct, elegant and subtle. Second because it looks different from most other pilots watches from popular, historical, and iconic brands such as IWC, Laco, and Rolex. Moreover, because it comes with a lot of things that only Oris does. For example, using that particular typeface for the Arabic numerals, the dual bezel construction, the modified Sellita caliber, the airplane seatbelt buckle-like clasp which I had yet to mention—nothing gimmicky but everything that makes sense for a pilot’s watch and which is a delight to operate—, the muscular case, and the perfectly proportioned dial which reminds me of the core principle of Bauhaus industrial design. In other words, designing objects where form truly follows function and where simplicity and effectiveness are essential. 

Conclusion 

The Oris Big Crown ProPilot Big Date is a wonderful tool watch and comes with a matching price tag of roughly $2,540 USD on the stainless steel bracelet. I would argue, actually, that yeah it’s a normal price to pay for such a good utilitarian timekeeping device made in Switzerland—should that mean for you the same thing it perhaps means to me—from a brand that has been around since 1904, so which comes with a ton of heritage and legacy, and which has remained independent during its entire existence which is not something that can be said of the majority of historical Swiss brands. And this fact can be explained, I assume, by Oris’s perpetual willingness and dedication to make very good and unique watches which are relatively well-priced, which is something that wouldn’t be possible should it had joined a group. 

In any case, this review complements the one I made on the Divers Date and Big Crown Cervo Volante I wrote a while back. 

Thanks for reading.