In 2014, Oris celebrated its one hundred and tenth anniversary with the release of the Calibre 110, a limited edition piece with the first in-house movement made by the company in 35 years. For 2015, Oris have released the Calibre 111 an evolution of the 110. We took a closer look at the new Oris Calibre 111 stainless steel model at Baselworld.
The first observation one makes when looking at the watch for the first time is the two sub dials. At the 9 o’clock position is the running seconds hand. The new feature of the Calibre 111 is the date, which is positioned in a cut out window between the 40 and 50 markers of the running seconds, and apart from this, it remains the same in all other areas as the Calibre 110.
The new Oris Calibre 111, an evolution of the Calibre 110.
The stainless steel version we reviewed featured a silver-grey dial, which provides a nice contrast to the 43mm case. To add depth to the dial, applied indices have been placed to mark the hours, in addition to the Arabic numerals of 6 and 12 in their respective positions. A minute track is also present on the outer edge of the dial with silver dots present for every 5 minute interval. The sapphire crystal has anti reflective coating on the inner crystal only. The slightly flattened crown is knurled. The pointed hour and minutes both have luminous material, for night time legibility.
At the 3 o’clock position is the non linear power reserve indicator. What makes the indicator different from others? A normal power reserve indicator will slowly move from the fully wound marker to the no energy remaining marker as the mainspring unwinds. The Oris Power Reserve differs since the indicator will move slowly at first from the full marker. When the mainspring starts to unwind and the number of days remaining decreases the indicator will move in unison with the tension left in the mainspring with bigger leaps until it reaches zero which is marked in red.
Visible through the sapphire caseback is the Calibre 111. It is a hand wound wound movement with 10 days of power reserve (240 Hours) and 40 jewels. What makes this movement special is the use of only one barrel instead of two to store up 10 days worth of energy. The barrel itself takes up the majority of the movement space.
The Calibre 111 viewable through the sapphire caseback
Now you cannot use a normal length mainspring in one barrel to achieve a long power reserve. Oris has placed a whopping 1.8m mainspring to store up the energy required. Apart from the big mainspring, the gear pictured below is patented by Oris, which enables the non linear power reserve to be displayed on the dial side.
The specially designed gear patented by Oris, which allows for the display of the non linear power reserve
The watch beats at a frequency of 3hz, and 21,600vph.
Close up shot of the balance wheel which operates at a frequency of 3 hertz and 21,600vph.
The watch is priced at $5,300 Swss Francs and will be a regular production piece. Overall we think the watch represents good value for money considering the in-house 10 day movement and a solidly constructed case.
The 43mm stainless steel case sits well on the wrist
