It was 2015 when ORIS launched its Caliber 111 on to the market; the natural evolution of that Caliber 110 that propelled ORIS into joining that selected group of brands that entirely designs its own mechanic movements. A new version of this caliber has now been unvelied and this milestone in ORIS’s history brings in a new deep blue dial; a colour that is still extremely trendy even in 2017. Horbiter® already tackled the Artelier Calibre 111 two years ago, but it is well worth the effort to remind you of some of the features of this in-house built timepiece by ORIS. Its manual movement with date, its small seconds, its 10 days of power reserve and its 6-year-long-development make this timepiece a real jewel in the world of watch-making. In particular, the power reserve is quite consistent and its secret lies in the big-sized single barrel wheel that can be seen through the sapphire glass case-back; a real feast for the eyes of all us watches aficionados!
The indicator of the power reserve is non–linear; the speed of the hand progressively increases when the timepiece is losing its charge, thus letting the user know that it is time to power up. Through the case-back, you can also see the “screw” that controls this complication. The movement is the main added value element of this watch; it perfectly combines together advanced industrial working techniques with traditional artisanal skills, while still maintaining an extremely reasonable retail price. Those customers, who decide to buy an ORIS like this one, are able to fully appreciate the technical features of a calibre without stopping at the aesthetic side (very refined too) of things.
As said before, the new version of the Calibre 111 introduces us to a new deep blue dial with pleasant and interesting shades. The timepiece is available in two different versions; one with a stainless steel bracelet and another version with a dark blue or black Louisiana crocodile leather strap, the geometric side and the main features of the movement haven’t changed since the previous version (the case still measures 43mm, it is still made of stainless steel, it is waterproof up to 3atm, it runs at a frequency of 3Hz and the movement size fills in the entire case). The retails price totals 5,500 CHF (about 5,400 euro) and it is extremely competitive, it is hard to find accessible timepieces on the market that can also boast such a high level of technology and know-how like this watch.
With its new version of the Calibre 111, ORIS clearly aims at reinforcing and widening its market presence within the 5,000-euro-price-range-niche by selling easily recognizable timepieces with an original complication and a beautiful in-house built calibre that reminds us of the great manual calibres of the pocket watches from the past. I have found ORIS’s move extremely well-timed and spot-on since the very first launch of this watch and now, with the addition of the latest version, it is quite difficult not to find a colour combo within the Artelier collection that will fit your taste!
(Photo credit: courtesy of Oris)
Andrea Frigerio @Horbiter®
@Andrea Frigerio
