New in 2015 is this beautiful revival of Oris' iconic 1960's design which first appeared 50 years ago. The new watch shares the retro looks of the original but has been increased in size from a case size of 36mm to a more contemporary (but not too large) 40mm.
The scratch-resistant convex sapphire crystal adds to the vintage appeal as does the water resistance of 100m. Oris must have been tempted to take the water resistance up to a more modern 200m or 300m but that would have required a far more robust crystal and would have added unnecessarily to the cost. This model seems to be mostly about faithfully honouring the original design and Oris have succeeded there.
The original Tritium-filled hands and indices have now been replaced with Super-Luminova and very cleverly, a yellowed Radium colour has been used to give a vintage aesthetic of radioactive substances used in the past. The plastic 'Tropic Design' strap also adds to the 60's feel of the watch but may not be to everyone's taste. Seeing as conventional lugs have been used (not often the case with Oris), the strap is easily swapped with a generic replacement. A shark mesh bracelet would have been this writer's first choice for this design.
With the price at EUR 1600 at the time of release, Oris have done well to produce something this special without adding too much to the cost. Compromises have been made in all the right places to keep costs down and to release a faithful reproduction of a vintage classic with all the benefits of modern watchmaking.
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