Much like cars and food, the difference between luxury and mass-produced watches are like heaven and earth. While you can certainly make do with a quartz-movement, off-the-rack watch, wearing a timepiece that will specifically cater to your needs is a different story.
Speaking of catering to specific needs, a new watch to look out for is the Oris Big Crown ProPilot Altimeter—a timepiece that will be every flyer’s dream come true. Asian Dragon was able to get up close with the Oris ProPilot Altimeter and we examine every facet of this luxury wristwatch to help you decide if this is the piece for you.
The claim of Oris is that the Oris Big Crown ProPilot Altimeter is the world’s first automatic mechanical barometric altimeter watch. But what does this mean for watch buyers and enthusiasts?
Well, it’s an automatic mechanical movement watch for starters and a luxurious piece that will especially appeal to watch aficionados. It’s also a watch that’s marketed as an essential tool that flyers and explorers will want to have since it has a built-in altimeter, which will be able to measure your altitude through air pressure. Flyers and leisure pilots will find this device very appealing since unlike other watches with an automatic altimeter, its built-in mechanical altimeter gives the wearer real-time updates of the altitude, which means you can actually monitor how low or how high you’re flying as you descend or ascend. Imagine how fast a helicopter or plane drops and increases its altitude—that’s how efficient the Oris ProPilot reads the altitude.
Another interesting feature that will delight is its oversized crown, so a person wearing gloves will be able to use and adjust the crowns easily compared to watches with normal-sized crowns. The Oris Big Crown ProPilot Altimeter has two crowns: one at two o’clock to adjust the time and date, and another at four o’clock to operate the altimeter. If the altimeter crown is positioned at Position 0, the altimeter is inactive and the watch is sealed so it is water-resistant to 100 meters. The altimeter is activated by unscrewing the crown to Position 1, which lets the air pressure get inside the watch for the altimeter to read. Unscrewing further to Position 2 will let you calibrate the altimeter to zero, which you will need to do before you let the altimeter start reading.
If you’re flying or trekking at night, the Oris Big Crown ProPilot Altimeter will make it easier for you since the hands and the numerals on the dial are all coated with Super-LumiNova, a great phosphorescent luminescent paint that will let you see in the darkest of environments.
The high-performance Oris Big Crown ProPilot Altimeter comes in a whopping 47mm case and is available in textile (grey, green, and black), black leather, or metal bracelets.
Whether you’re a flyer or hiker of towering heights, an explorer that pushes the limits of both human and machine, or simply an avid collector of beautiful and extraordinary timepieces, then this Oris Big Crown ProPilot Altimeter might just be for you.
