Oris is often considered one of the best bangs for your buck in the Swiss luxury watch market. The well-regarded manufacturer, founded in Hölstein in 1904, has been gaining ground on better known and more expensive Swiss brands, thanks to its excellent value and impressive quality. It’s latest creation, the Oris ProDiver Dive Control also brings an element of exclusivity, thanks to a limited production run and a cool blacked-out DLC (diamond-like carbon) coating over its titanium case.
The Oris ProDiver Collection
The ProDiver line is Oris’s collection of serious, professional dive watches. Priced above both the Aquis and the Divers Sixty-Five, these purpose-built timepieces abandon the vintage-inspired aesthetic of many of the brand’s other designs, and instead offer the latest technology and features in a thoroughly modern package. Despite its highly-functional design, the Oris ProDiver Dive Control still keeps in line with Oris’ mission to make mechanical watches that are “things of beauty, designed according to principles that have been around for generations and will continue long into the future.”
The Dive Control Limited Edition
The Oris ProDiver Dive Control Limited Edition was developed in partnership with Swiss commercial diver, Roman Frischknecht, and as one would expect from a watch co-designed by a commercial diver, this highly-capable timepiece offers users 1,000 meters of water resistance. Working with Frischknecht, Oris developed their patented Rotation Safety System (RSS), which locks the rotating diving bezel securely in place to eliminate the possibility of it getting accidentally knocked out of place while on a dive.
Additionally, while most watches with chronograph complications feature 30-minute counters on their dials, the ProDiver Dive Control Limited Edition has a full 60-minute counter that is indicated by yellow detailing on the sub-dial located at the 12 o’clock position.
At 51mm, the new Oris ProDiver Dive Control Limited Edition is certainly a major presence on the wrist; however its titanium construction helps keep its overall weight relatively reasonable. The watch comes on a black rubber strap in a waterproof presentation box, along with an additional yellow rubber strap that picks up on the dial’s highlights, and a professional strap changing tool so that users can take full advantage of the alternate strap option.
Only 500 examples of the new Dive Control Limited Edition chronograph will be offered for sale (at retail price of about $4,875). While some will go to collectors who see them as good investments or simply a cool-looking timepiece, it is likely that a decent number may actually end up in the hands of watch enthusiasts who plan on taking them diving.
