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Watch Review: Oris Aquis 300m Diver black rubber strap.

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#1 ·
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Reviewer: Don aka Tattoo Chef

Watch Being Reviewed:  Oris Aquis Black dial , black rubber strap Reference # 01 733 7653 4154-07 4 26 34EB

Watch was donated for review to me by Oris Watch Company.

Company Website: http://www.oris.ch/home.aspx

About/History: http://www.oris.ch/oris/histoire.aspx?ln=en

Facebook Page : https://www.facebook.com/#!/ORIS

Specs:
Case:
Multi-piece stainless steel case, ceramic minutes scale top ring
Dial:
Black dial
Strap/Bracelet:
Black rubber strap, stainless steel security folding clasp with extension
Size:
43.00 mm, 1.693 inches
Interhorn Width:26 mm
Top Glass:
Sapphire, domed on both sides, anti-reflective coating inside
Case Back:
Stainless steel, screwed, see-through mineral glass
Operating Devices:
Stainless steel screw-in security crown
Luminous Material:
Indices and hands Superluminova BG W9
Water Resistance:
30 bar (300 m, 984 ft)

Movement:
Oris 733, base SW 200-1
Dimensions:
Ø 25.60 mm, 11 1/2’’’
Functions:Centre hands for hours, minutes and seconds, date window, instantaneous date, date corrector, fine timing device and stop-second
Winding:
Automatic winding, bi-directionally rotating red rotor
Power-Reserve:
38 hrs
Vibrations:
28’800 A/h, 4 Hz
Jewels:
26

Retail Price $1650

Stock Photo:

Oris Aquis First Impressions:
I was expecting the Aquis to look much smaller, only because of seeing how the Oris TT1 44m plays smaller due to the donut case shape. I was wrong. Also the second I opened it out of the box, I fell in love with the clasp, a truly inventive and unique divers extension clasp. I also noticed, just how bright and stark the black and white colors of the watch were. 
 

Packaging:
In my opinion, one thing we all look for in a more high end or expensive watch, is better presentation. Well, maybe we don't look for it, but I think we have come to expect it. Oris does not disappoint here. The entire presentation box weighs 4 pounds. It comes in a black and red hard cardboard outer box. Inside reveals the Oris divers helmet, which actually holds the watch. It almost looks like a spaceship as well. Upon opening it, you see the watch very securely sitting horizontally inside the helmet, and if you wanted to , could leave it open and use it to put the watch on display. Under the bottom of the box is a slot which reveals the Oris manual, history, Oris registration and warranty card.  I mean, its the watch that really counts, but I do have to say, this presentation, does make you more excited about the watch, just knowing how much detail went into packaging.

















 

Oris Aquis Dial:
The dial is black and lightly textured. All lettering is done in stark white. Also the hour markers and hands are filled with white lume. Both the hands and hour markers are outlined in brushed stainless steel. One thing I noticed which is different from a lot of brands, is it only says Oris on the dial and does not say the model name, Aquis. Actually , no where's on the watch does it mention the model name. Date is at the 6 o'clock position, and is white on black, matching the dial. You can see the hour markers are applied and raised above the dial, giving it an almost 3-d effect. Very crisp clean dial.










Case dimensions:

These are my measurements:

case width 42.75mm (10-4)
47mm with crown
Bezel 42.3mm
50mm lug to lug
case is 12.8mm thick
7.5MM crown
Strap is 4.39mm at widest point tapers to 2.39mm 9.39mm thick at clasp
weight 131.2 grams

Oris Aquis Case:
The case of the Oris Aquis is similar but different to the TT1 models. It still has domed sides, but they are more beveled off and even in width than the donut shaped TT1 models.





Very smooth brushing on the non crown side. Also notice the screws in the lug holes here.



The crown is signed with Oris, and they decided to do the crown in a high polish finish, to give some contrast to the brushed case. The crown is very secure, unscrews very smoothly, and operates and turns with out any issues. No wiggle room when unscrewed all the way, a very solid crown.





The crown guards are screwed down into the case, and are actual separate pieces of steel. These are a big difference over the TT1 model, as that model does not have crown guards at all. I have to say though, with such a very big crown, the guards don't really extend to much , so I'm not exactly sure how much protection there would be if you were to drop or bang the crown into something, though when this crown is screwed down, it seems very sturdy and well machined, so I don't know if it would damage it either.




The lugs on the Oris Aquis are similar to the TT1, but instead of being domed curved lugs, these are beveled at downwards angle. I must say, I prefer the look of these to the TT1. The lugs are also high polished.

One thing I want to point out here , is the lug screws. The strap is held in place by a screw bar and tube system. It is very securely in there, and is probably a combination of good machining,  and loctite. I actually could not unscrew them after a couple of attempts.




Oris Aquis Crystal:
The crystal is ever so slightly domed and sits just above the bezel. It has an internal AR coating. As you can see in some of my pics, I think the AR coating can be a little better, as there was a lot of reflection in the crystal, especially in certain angles. I really only noticed glare when I was outside. It is still not difficult to read the time, but I wanted to point it out.



 
Oris Aquis Bezel:
As you can see in the pic above, the bezel is a coin edge style of bezel. The outer edge of the bezel is high polished, like the crown and lugs are ,  being the only parts of the case that are high polished. It gives just enough contrast with still being subtle.  It as short spaced grips. Very firm bezel, no real play in it at all. Very smooth clicking. I will say though, with the bezel laying right on top of the case, and not really being raised off of it, it is a little difficult to grasp and turn. I imagine with gloves on it would be much more difficult.

The bezel insert is made of ceramic. This ceramic insert just looks beautiful. Ceramic bezels get high praise from me, because not only are they scratch resistant but also matte finished, as opposed to sapphire covered bezels, which because of it being glass show a lot of marks and finger prints. Not so with the ceramic. Also if you look in the pics, you can see the numbers and the has marks are perfectly aligned and painted on precisely. No sloppy paint work here. The lume pip is outlined in an upside down triangle.



 

 
Oris Aquis Caseback:
The case back is an exhibition case back showing off the famous Oris red rotor, of the modified SW-2OO movement.

The machined holes  in the case back  are for a special case back tool , to remove the case back. The case back is very similar to the Oris TT1  with some minor differences. Model, serial numbers, crystal type and water resistance are also included.










Oris Aquis Rubber Strap and clasp:
The rubber strap is very much the same look and feel of Isofrane rubber(minus the breathing slots). It is very very comfortable. It is branded on each top side of the strap with Oris. The inside of the strap is also marked with the symbol and reference number.








The clasp is one of the most exciting parts of the watch. Not to take away or say that the watch itself is not worthy of praise, but I was very impressed with the clasp. Over the years, Oris has been constantly updating their clasps, from the standard to now the very custom and very functional. Most Oris rubber straps , you had to cut them to get it to fit. Not the case here.

One thing I want to point out. When the watch arrived, I though that the strap had been put on backwards. The buckle was upside down to me, and the way to put the watch on seemed odd to me. I went to an Oris AD, to see if they could  reverse the strap, but as I tried myself, they were not able to remove the screw bars in the lugs either.

The screw bars are in there very tight. If one were to try and remove them, you need the perfect size and width screw drivers, magnetic ones would be best, to try and break the loctite seal, without stripping the screw bars.

But in the end, the AD told me, that this was the way the clasp was meant to be, and that is how they come from the factory, and showed me one in the case that was the same way, as well as a couple of other brands as well. Now, whether true or not, the watch fits and claps very comfortably, and probably the only one that would notice is guys like us, but would not matter either way the strap is attached as it would function the same way.







As you can see here, and in the pics below, the long side of the strap is attached to the sliding button extension. Not only will this fit most size wrists, but also makes it easy for perfect fit to the wrist. I will explain and show the clasp in more detail in the video below.








Wrist shot on my 7 1/2" wrist:















Oris Aquis Movement:
The movement is the Oris 773, Base SW-200. The movement is very smooth, and the sweep of the second hand is one of the smoothest I have ever seen. The date starts to switch over, just about at 5 to midnight.

Totally unscientific time measurements, the watch seems to be running about 3 seconds slow a day.


Oris Aquis Lume:
The lume on the Oris Aquis is Superluminova BG-W9 lume, which glows a very deep ice blue color.

The lume is pretty bright, considering the lume markers are not overly huge, and it lasts for a good many hours.

The first couple of shots are in dim light, with the last being in complete darkness.











Oris Aquis Summary:
The Oris Aquis on rubber, in all my checking on prices , usually can be found less or right around the same price as its TT1 counterpart.  The dial is rugged but yet still upscale and the use of the ceramic bezel, puts it high up on the ladder for me. The rubber strap is extremely comfortable and the clasp as I said one of the best parts of the watch.

I do think a couple more layers of AR coating could be used, and I also think Oris should start including the exact size screw drivers needed to unscrew the lugs, because there seems to be some issue with that, at least in my experience. Overall though, a great example from Oris, and a modern take on their traditional diver line. 

Thank you again to Oris for providing for review, and as always I appreciate the comments.
 
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#9 ·
imported post

Great review Don! I've been very tempted with the blue dial version of this model. I've been going back and forth between the bracelet and rubber. I've been thinking the bracelet has too much polish for me but after this review I'm def. leaning towards the rubber.

BTW - Now I know what you sound like!
 
#16 ·
imported post

:cThanks for a great review! I'm a big fan of the exhibition (see through) backs which allow us to view the movement. I'm a retired engineer, so I appreciate the ability to see what makes a watch (or any rotating machine) tick, and in most cases, it is possible to SEE the quality of craftsmanship and production. This watch appears to be a fine example ofSwiss watch making excellence! Thanks again!
 
#21 ·
imported post

Great review. The watch although a nice one doesn't do anything for me but I love the box! LOL Aside from the name it looks like every other divers watch out there. I must have had a couple dozen watches over the years that look just like it and a few in my collection now.
 
#24 ·
imported post

Probably just an accumulation of dirt... stainless steel, especially the grade that Oris would use should be corrosion resistant.

DenFromNM wrote:
Am I the only one who see's this? But there seems to be something wrong with this picture. Does that look like look like rust around the crown guard? The life of a quality inspector..LOL



 
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