In 2016, Swiss watch brand Oris is revisiting its legendary BC3 pilot’s watch line by presenting a sporty new timepiece featuring a gunmetal grey finish. Part of the Oris collection since 1999, the BC3 is one of a long line of historically important aviation pieces made by the independent Swiss company that goes back to the original Big Crown of 1938.
The flagship piece in the new line-up is the BC3 Advanced Day Date with a stealthy gunmetal grey PVD-coated stainless steel case. It comes on either a beige textile or black rubber strap. The dial is grey with special ‘light old radium’ Super-LumiNova® hour markers. The same material has been used to fill the white hour and minute hands, while the second hand is black with a white tip. This package has been carefully considered by Oris’s designers to create a watch that’s clearly legible both during the day and at night, in keeping with the traditions of the pilot’s watch’s practical aesthetic.
Much of the watch’s robust look comes from the protectors that flank the screw-in crown. The watch is water-resistant to 10 bar/100 metres, even with its glass case back, which provides a view of Oris’s automatic Calibre 735 and its trademark Red Rotor. The movement provides the watch with day and date indication in two windows stacked at 6 o’clock like an instrument panel in an aircraft cockpit.
As well as the gunmetal grey version, the new BC3 Advanced Day Date is also available in steel with a striking blue dial, or in black-DLC-coated steel with a black dial. The watch is available from now, priced CHF 1,400.
Technical details
Model: Oris BC3 Advanced Day Date
Ref. No. 01 735 7641 4263 TS, Ø 42.00mm
Movement
Automatic movement Oris Cal. 735, based on Sellita SW 220-1, with day and date at 6 o’clock
Case
Multi-piece stainless steel case with gunmetal grey PVD coating
Stainless steel screw-in security crown and crown protection with gunmetal grey PVD coating
Water-resistant to 10 bar/100m
Flat sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating inside
Screwed stainless steel case back with gunmetal grey PVD coating and see-through mineral glass
Dial
Grey dial with printed numerals filled with Super-LumiNova®
White hour and minute hands, filled with Super-LumiNova®
Black central seconds hand with white tip
Strap
Beige textile strap with gunmetal grey PVD-coated stainless steel buckle
Also available with a black rubber strap with gunmetal grey PVD-coated stainless steel folding clasp
