Oris ProPilot: The Modern Aviation Watch Collection

The ProPilot is Oris's modern, technical aviation collection — the counterpart to the heritage-focused Big Crown. Where the Big Crown looks backward to 1940s pilot watches, the ProPilot addresses contemporary aviation: larger cases, technical specifications, titanium construction, and complications designed for cockpit use rather than aesthetic reference.

Launch and Design Philosophy — 2012

The ProPilot launched at Baselworld 2012 as a consolidation of Oris's larger pilot watch offering. The design brief was legibility-first: high-contrast dials, large printed Arabic numerals, luminous-filled hands with clear differentiation between hours and minutes, and a case large enough to be read at a glance under cockpit lighting.

Oris references EASA (European Union Aviation Safety Agency) standards for cockpit instrument readability in the ProPilot's design language — though the watch is not formally EASA-certified as an instrument. The 10-dot luminous minute track, the sword-shaped hour hand with a larger lume surface than the minute hand, and the orange accents on some variants reflect instrument-panel thinking.

Case sizes at launch: 44mm diameter, stainless steel. The watches were offered with rubber straps (providing grip in pilot gloves), fabric NATO-style straps, and steel bracelets.

ProPilot X — Skeleton and Titanium

The ProPilot X (launched 2019) represents the technical showpiece of the ProPilot range. Key features:

• Titanium case — grade 5 titanium, significantly lighter than steel
• Skeletal dial — case back and dial both open, exposing movement architecture
• Calibre 115 — a manual-wind movement with an unconventional construction: the mainspring barrel and gear train are visible through the open case
• Rubber integrated strap — vulcanised rubber formed as part of the case design, not a detachable strap
• 44.5mm diameter with a sporty, angular case profile

The ProPilot X was Oris's entry into the skeletonised watch segment — a departure from the brand's predominantly legibility-focused aesthetic. It attracted buyers interested in movement architecture rather than instrument function.

ProPilot Altitude — Mechanical Altimeter

The ProPilot Altitude (launched 2020) is among the most technically ambitious watches Oris has produced: a wristwatch with a functional mechanical altimeter built into the case.

The altimeter function works via a silicon diaphragm housed in the case side — the diaphragm flexes under atmospheric pressure changes and drives a hand on the dial showing altitude above sea level. The range covers approximately 0 to 4,500 metres . The altimeter is mechanical, not electronic: no battery is required.

A separate crown at 9 o'clock controls the altimeter reference setting. The main crown at 3 o'clock controls the timekeeping movement (automatic, Calibre 733-based). The case is deliberately sealed where the movement is concerned, with the altimeter diaphragm in a separate chamber — the timekeeping function is water resistant while the altimeter port is open to atmosphere.

The ProPilot Altitude is a genuine technical instrument watch, placing it in rare company alongside the IWC Ingenieur and Breitling Emergency as watches with real functional instruments beyond standard timekeeping.

ProPilot Calibre 111 — Left-Hand Crown, 10-Day Reserve

The ProPilot Calibre 111 (launched 2015) is defined by two unusual characteristics:

1. Crown at 9 o'clock (left-hand crown) — placing the winding and setting crown on the opposite side from convention, so it does not press into the wrist during wear
2. 10-day power reserve — the Calibre 111 stores approximately 240 hours of energy, displayed via a power reserve indicator on the dial

The 9 o'clock crown is a direct response to ergonomic feedback from pilots: a standard 3 o'clock crown digs into the back of the hand during stick-and-throttle operation. Left-crown watches exist in other contexts (Longines pilot watches, certain IWC references) but are unusual in a production lineup.

The Calibre 111 is a Oris-modified movement — not yet fully in-house, but with significant Oris-specific modules for the Pointer Date function at 12 o'clock and the barrel architecture enabling the long reserve.

ProPilot GMT — Dual Time Zone

The ProPilot GMT adds a second time zone via a 24-hour hand and a bidirectional rotating bezel with a 24-hour scale. The function allows pilots operating across time zones to simultaneously read local time and reference time (home base or UTC).

The GMT uses a bidirectional bezel — unusual for a sports watch where unidirectional bezels are standard — because the 24-hour scale requires clockwise and counterclockwise rotation to align reference marks. The complication uses an ETA-based automatic with Oris GMT module.

Partnerships and Airline Collaborations

Oris has partnered with aviation organisations and airlines for special ProPilot editions:

• Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) — governing body for air sports
• Air Racing editions tied to aerobatic competition
• Hölstein Edition — annual limited series from the Hölstein factory
• Various airline-themed editions with specific carrier colour references

These collaborations are smaller in scale than the Aquis ocean conservation editions and typically limited to 500–1,000 pieces.

Current Range (2024)

Retail prices range from approximately CHF 2,000 (ProPilot Date) to CHF 5,000 (ProPilot Altitude).