At Baselworld 2014, Swiss Oris watches launched the ProPilot Chronograph GMT as the latest member of its Massive Crown ProPilot watch assortment, My understanding is that, by 2015, the ProPilot Chronograph GMT 677 7699 was discontinued. Was the ProPilot Chronograph GMT a flop? Hardly. What occurred, in keeping with Oris, is that the motion contained in the watch was just too tough and costly to acquire, making it not commercially possible to maintain producing the watch — and it didn’t make sense for costs to leap. Oris does produce a few of its personal actions (which you’ll find in different ProPilot timepieces), however the model’s cheap pricing continues to be primarily based on its means to make use of actions from Swiss corporations equivalent to ETA.
Contained in the Massive Crown ProPilot Chronograph GMT is a modified Swiss ETA Valjoux 7750 computerized chronograph motion that has been upgraded to incorporate a 24 hour GMT hand. This course of kind of revises the day-of-the-week indicator system and makes it a GMT hand as a substitute — which is probably the most fundamental means of explaining it. The motion is seen by means of the sapphire crystal caseback on the rear of the watch and bears Oris’ signature red-colored computerized rotor (which amusingly, to me, says “excessive mech” on it). To at the present time, I imagine this explicit watch is the one Massive Crown ProPilot mannequin to mix a chronograph and GMT complication, which means you may get both GMT watches or chronograph watches within the trendy aviation-inspired ProPilot assortment, however not each.
The 4Hz, two-day energy reserve motion options the time, date, GMT hand, and 12 hour-chronograph, making the dial really feel full however not busy. Oris did a superb job of constructing the ProPilot Chronograph GMT really feel very very similar to a severe instrument/instrument watch. Dial particulars are extremely appreciated, equivalent to the right use of a black date disc and the perfect distinction between the white-colored (and lume painted) hour markers and palms, and the matte dial. Oris determined to go together with a barely domed sapphire crystal, which, in comparison with flat crystal, has some glare, however total, the legibility expertise is superb. The no-nonsense dial and deal with utility is what attracted me to the ProPilot Chronograph GMT within the first place, years in the past. Such designs are extremely beneficial for watch collectors who’ve an actual mushy spot for “instrument timepieces.”
At 44mm-wide and practically 16mm-thick, the steel-cased ProPilot Chronograph GMT is a hefty timepiece with weight to match its dimension. Lug-to-lug distance is about 53mm, so the watch is wearable on most wrists. Oris initially produced the watch with a number of strap choices, however as a bracelet man, I most well-liked the matching three-link metal metallic bracelet on Oris’ personal fashion of fold-over deployant clasp.
The large crown a part of this Massive Crown ProPilot watch is definitely there, however the crown doesn’t really feel over-sized given the timepiece’s total bulk. For probably the most half, the ProPilot case design is utilitarian however there are some delicate ornamental touches that I like. These are, for instance, the “turbine-” fashion bezel, in addition to the small quantity of sprucing (equivalent to close to the caseback) to enrich the largely brushed metal surfacing over the case and bracelet.
Some watch-lover will complain about how parts of the dial design overlap on each other. From a strict “instrument watch perspective,” it’s right that dial parts mustn’t overlap — equivalent to hour markers over chronograph subdials. I don’t thoughts this as a result of I really really feel that, from an aesthetic perspective, it makes the watch really feel a bit bigger and extra attention-grabbing. It additionally pushes deal with telling the time versus the chronograph stopwatch — which definitely does replicate how most individuals immediately use watches like this. Nonetheless, should you look intently on the subdials, you’ll be able to see how simply you’ll be able to spot the varied indicators and palms. All issues thought-about, even from a chronograph standpoint, the Oris ProPilot Chronograph GMT is far more legible than most chronograph timepieces on the market.
The Massive Crown ProPilot assortment continues to be very a lot produced by Oris immediately, with a collection of attention-grabbing fashions relying in your style. If something, Oris probably provides too many variations of its watches, making it a problem (or a pleasure) to determine which mannequin is best for you. The Massive Crown ProPilot Chronograph GMT is a wonderful alternative — if you’ll find one. Given the restricted time throughout which it was produced, that is maybe one of many rarest trendy Oris watches round. Unique retail worth for this Oris ref. 01 677 7699 4164-07 eight 22 19 (aka 67776994164/MB) was $four,300 USD. See extra on the Oris web site right here.
