Meet the Oris Big Crown Pointer Date Waldenburgerbahn Limited Edition

The newly released Big Crown Pointer Date Waldenburgerbahn Limited Edition watch celebrates the railway that links a northern and southern town in Holstein – home and birthplace of Swiss watchmaker Oris.

It’s a little like walking down a supermarket aisle and picking up ten items you hadn’t planned for, or making a stop at the Arc de Triomphe when visiting Champs-Élysées. The Waldenburgerbahn rail network in Holstein, Switzerland drew tourists in from all around the area with its line that ran right along the outskirts of the Oris factory. The railway line linked the northern town Liestal and the southern town of Waldenburg. Although only stretching a mere 13km long, this line attracted tourists and commuters, uniting the interests of those who lived and grew up in Holstein as well as those with a passion for authentic Swiss watchmaking Now, paying homage to the roots of the company’s prestigious factory and the rail network that helped empower the region, Oris has released a brand new timepiece in the style of its popular Big Crown Pointer Date watch.

The new Oris Big Crown Pointer Date Waldenburgerbahn Limited Edition watch is in line with the Swiss watchmaker’s Emissions Reduction Programme and reflects not only the evolution of the railway but the growth of the watch company itself. Since it opened in 1880, the Waldenburgerbahn railway has undergone some significant upgrades, even closing to the public last year whilst it underwent its biggest transformation yet. This year, the railway is due to open its lines to the public once again, reconnecting the picturesque valley that has formed the backdrop to Oris’ watchmaking facilities since it opened its doors back in 1904. The new Oris Waldenburgerbahn Limited Edition watch is exclusive to just 1000 pieces and evokes a very traditional look thanks to a style that has not wavered in over 80 years. The Big Crown Pointer Date watch has proven a collectable for decades and is loved for its timeless pointer-style date feature that frames the perimeter of the dial with the numbers of each month, indicated by a red arrow-tipped hand.

The retro flare of the Big Crown Pro Pilot watch from Oris lends itself to the reimagining of the brand’s very first pilot’s watch back in the 1940s. Its pointer date function has been a preferred way to decipher the exact day of the month through an unconventional dial layout. A way that does not muddy up the symmetry of the dial. This elegant date feature is quick, easy and functional above all. Celebrating the original design from 80 years ago, the latest Oris Big Crown Pointer Date watch was re-released in 2018 and given a new lease of life. Presented in a host of styles, it offered itself up in a diameter of 36mm or 40mm.

The new Oris Big Crown Pointer Date Waldenburgerbahn Limited Edition watch

With a hint of nostalgia, the new Oris Big Crown Pro Pilot Waldenburgerbahn Limited Edition watch is exclusive to just 1000 pieces worldwide and has been crafted from stainless steel. Belonging to the modern generation of Big Crown watches, its design brings the best of both old and new worlds together. There’s still the titular oversized crown at 3 o’clock, made super easy to grip through enormously clunky gloves worn by aviators during an era when freezing temperatures in the cockpit were the norm. The typography of the Arabic numeral hour markers is also historically correct, as are the luminous-coated central hands, made to be incredibly easy to reference in dark and testing conditions. Although now made from sapphire crystal, the domed glass front of the Big Crown Pointer Date is also true to much earlier references. Let’s take a closer look at the spec details of the new Oris Big Crown Pointer Date Waldenburgerbahn Limited Edition watch...

As mentioned, the case of the new Oris Big Crown Pointer Date watch is crafted from stainless steel. It bears the instantly recognisable knurled bezel and measures a diameter of 40mm. Its multi-piece case construction features a domed sapphire crystal glass front with anti-reflective treatment applied to both sides. The back of the case is closed but bears a unique engraved image depicting the steam engine running along the Waldenburgerbahn line. Alongside the image is the limited edition number of the water. The timepiece is also 50-meter water resistant, providing protective housing around the movement sitting at the heart of the case.

The dial of the new Oris Big Crown Pointer Date Waldenburgerbahn watch is a crisp black colour, enabling the white Arabic numerals hour markers to stand out with a pop. The luminous central hour and minute hands are cathedral-shaped and join a pointer date hand with a red tip.  A double square indicator differentiates the 12 o’clock location from other hour markers on the dial. The rest are represented by triangular-shaped markers along a railroad minute track. Of course, the Oris lettering completes the dial of this watch, framed by the iconic coin-edged bezel that has long been associated with the Big Crown Pointer Date watch.

The Oris 754 is an automatic movement that powers the hands of this new Oris Big Crown Pointer Date watch. It performs at a rate of 28,800 vibrations per hour and provides a power reserve of 38 hours. Its functions include hours, minutes, seconds, instantaneous date, and a date corrector.

To complete the classically inspired look of the Big Crown Pointer Date watch, Oris chooses to fit the timepiece on a traditional brown Cervo Volante deer strap with a stainless steel pin buckle and a quick change strap system. Oris, as of late, has been seeking out ways to become more environmentally friendly and one sustainable route it has taken involves the addition of these deer straps into its collections. In Switzerland, over 15,000 wild red deer are culled each year as a preventative method to control population numbers. As a result, the deer hide from this mass culling would be burned. Since teaming up with Cervo Valante, Oris has welcomed these new and elegant deer hide straps into its range in various colours. The deep brown Cervo Valante strap on this Big Crown Pointer Date watch looks incredibly classic, teaming well with the shot of red colour seen in the Pointer date hand and the crisp blackness of the dial itself.

If you’d like to own one of the 1000 limited edition pieces of the new Oris Big Crown Pointer Date Waldenburgerbahn watch, you can call and speak to a member of our sales team here at Jura Watches today on 01335 453453 or check out the spec details on the product page here.