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Oris Aquis Date 43.5mm Stainless Steel
Ref. 01 733 7730 4159
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Stepping up in the same colour and case shape
The Aquis arrived in 2013 as Oris's answer to a straightforward question: could a serious Swiss diver be built without the price of a manufacture movement and without the compromises that usually follow. The answer was a tool watch with a clear hierarchy of priorities — depth rating first, wearability second, finishing where it serves rather than decorates. At 43.5mm it sounds substantial on paper, but the lugs are short, stubby and sharply downswept, pulling the case tight against the wrist in a way that flatters wrists well below what the diameter might suggest. The black dial with orange baton markers and matching hands is unambiguous in any light, and the ceramic bezel insert resists the scratching that would dull a steel or aluminium one over years of use. The Calibre 733 is built on a Sellita SW200-1 base — not a movement Oris pretends is something else, but one chosen because it is straightforward to service anywhere and will outlast most of the situations this watch is likely to find itself in. The signed red rotor visible through the exhibition caseback is a small Oris signature on an otherwise deliberately unshowy movement. The bracelet on this reference carries a diver's extension built into the folding clasp, so it adjusts over a wetsuit without tools.
- Reference
- 01 733 7730 4159
- Brand
- Oris
- Collection
- Aquis
- Case size
- 43.5mm
- Case thickness
- 12.6mm
- Lug width
- 24mm
- Case material
- Stainless steel
- Case shape
- Round
- Dial
- Black
- Crystal
- Sapphire
- Bezel
- Unidirectional rotating
- Movement
- Automatic
- Calibre
- 733
- Functions
- Date
- Water resistance
- 300m
- Bracelet / strap
- Stainless steel bracelet
- Strap colour
- Black
- Clasp
- Deployant clasp
- Lume
- Luminous
- Condition
- Pre-owned
- Retailer
- Mappin & Webb
Additional specifications
- Lug-to-lug
- 50mm
Learn more about Oris
Paul Cattin and Georges Christian took over an empty factory in Hölstein in 1904 and named the company after a nearby gorge. It stayed independent, and stayed in that valley, for its entire history.
Oris built its reputation on volume mechanical watches made properly. By the 1960s it was among the largest Swiss employers in the sector, producing hundreds of thousands of movements a year. Its most curious historical footnote is regulatory: Swiss law restricted the number of jewels a watch could contain under certain classifications, and Oris fought a decade-long legal battle to be permitted to fit lever escapements — winning in 1968.
The quartz crisis nearly ended it. The company was bought out of the ASUAG conglomerate in 1982 by two managers, Rolf Portmann and Ulrich Herzog, who took it back to mechanical watches exclusively at precisely the moment the rest of the industry was abandoning them.
That independence remains the point. Oris is one of the few Swiss houses of any scale with no group ownership, and it competes on value rather than prestige — dive watches, pilot's watches, and the Big Crown line descended from its 1938 pointer calendar. The house developed its own Calibre 400 family from 2020, offering five-day power reserves and ten-year service intervals at prices well below the norm for in-house movements.
- 1904
- Paul Cattin and Georges Christian found Oris in Hölstein.
- 1938
- The Big Crown pointer calendar is introduced.
- 1968
- Wins the legal fight to use lever escapements.
- 1982
- A management buyout returns the company to independence.
- 2020
- The in-house Calibre 400 launches.
Also in 5 collections
This watch appears in Stainless Steel Watches (3,102), Automatic Watches (1,425), Sports Watches (714), Dive Watches (494) and Pre-Owned, Ex-Display & Vintage Watches (211).
What the specifications mean
A mechanical watch built to be worn hard and got wet.
Strengths
- 300m water resistance, rated for actual diving
- 50mm lug-to-lug keeps the 43.5mm case wearable
- Sapphire crystal, which resists scratching
- Luminous hands and markers for low light
- Sits in the lower half of Oris's range as we list it
Worth knowing
- 43.5mm sits at the larger end
Compare alternatives
Watches from other brands at a similar price, style and size, so you can see what else your budget can buy.
| Specification | 01 733 7730 4159 | L37693567 | R32105313 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | £1,550 | £1,550 | £1,650 |
| Case size | 43.5mm | 42mm | 42mm |
| Water resistance | 300m | 300m | 300m |
| Movement | Automatic | Automatic | Automatic |
| Strap | Stainless steel bracelet | Stainless steel bracelet | Stainless steel bracelet |
| Power reserve | — | — | 80 hours |
| This watch |
|
|
Your new watch
Frequently asked questions, and things you should know about this watch
Can I swim with it?
Yes. At 300m it is rated for swimming, snorkelling and recreational diving.
Will the glass scratch?
Unlikely. Sapphire is second only to diamond in hardness and shrugs off everyday marking.
Does it need a battery?
No. It is automatic — the motion of your wrist winds it, and there is no cell to replace.
What size strap does it take?
24mm. Any strap of that width will fit, and on most modern watches quick-release bars make the swap a two-minute job with no tools.
Will it fit my wrist?
Lug-to-lug is 50mm, which suits wrists from roughly 16.5cm (6½ inches) upward.
Lug-to-lug decides fit more than case diameter does.
Is it a men's or women's watch?
Listed as men's.
Cheapest place to buy
Mappin & Webb at £1,550, pre-owned. No UK retailer we track lists this reference new.
Is this available new?
Not from the UK retailers we track. This reference is listed as pre-owned only, at £1,550 from Mappin & Webb. A pre-owned watch has been worn, and is normally sold under the retailer’s own warranty rather than the manufacturer’s.
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