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Oris Big Crown 80th Anniversary Edition 40mm Mens Watch
Ref. 01 754 7741 3167-07 5 20 58BR
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Stepping up in Oris's range
The Big Crown Pointer Date began in 1938 as a working pilot's tool: an oversized crown for gloved hands, and a central pointer hand indicating the date rather than a conventional disc. That second detail is the complication the watch is still named for. This 80th anniversary edition marks that origin in bronze — a material chosen not for fashion but because it weathers like the industrial objects Oris has always made watches alongside. The case will patina as the alloy oxidises, and no two will end up the same colour. The green dial was matched to that process deliberately; as the bronze darkens, the two read as a pair. At 40mm across and 48mm lug-to-lug, the proportions sit closer to the original spirit of the watch than the larger sizes the Big Crown has grown to in recent years. The curved lugs follow the wrist rather than bridging it, and the plain vegetable-tanned leather strap — no stitching, no contrast thread — keeps the whole thing settled and unpretentious on the wrist. The red-tipped pointer date hand is the one accent that interrupts the otherwise warm palette, and it earns its place by being genuinely useful. The calibre 754 runs on a Sellita SW200-1 base, which means any competent independent watchmaker can service it without sending it back to Hölstein. The stainless steel caseback with its mineral glass window is a practical choice on a bronze case — steel resists the same oxidation the bronze embraces, so the movement stays protected while the exterior gets on with ageing.
- Reference
- 01 754 7741 3167-07 5 20 58BR
- Brand
- Oris
- Collection
- Big Crown
- Case size
- 40mm
- Case thickness
- 12mm
- Case material
- Bronze
- Case shape
- Round
- Dial
- Green
- Crystal
- Sapphire
- Movement
- Automatic
- Calibre
- 754
- Functions
- Date
- Water resistance
- 50m
- Bracelet / strap
- Leather strap
- Strap colour
- Brown
- Clasp
- Buckle
- Lume
- Super-LumiNova
- Retailer
- Goldsmiths
Additional specifications
- Power reserve
- 38 hours
- Origin
- Swiss made
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 7 collections
This watch appears in the Oris Big Crown range (14), Back in Stock (4,007), Automatic Watches (1,417), Leather Strap Watches (904), Dress Watches (456), Green Dial Watches (392) and Limited Edition Watches (167).
Manufacturer’s guarantee
What the specifications mean
A mechanical watch for everyday wear.
Strengths
- 40mm suits most wrists
- 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
- 50m suits rain and handwashing, not swimming
- 38-hour reserve means winding it after a day off
Oris Big Crown 80th Anniversary alternatives
Watches from other brands at a similar price, style and size, so you can see what else your budget can buy.
| Specification | 01 754 7741 3167-07 5 20 58BR | YA126390 | L27934096 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | £2,050 | £2,130 | £2,100 |
| Case size | 40mm | 40mm | 40mm |
| Water resistance | 50m | 50m | 30m |
| Movement | Automatic | Automatic | Automatic |
| Strap | Leather strap | Stainless steel bracelet | Stainless steel bracelet |
| Power reserve | 38 hours | — | 72 hours |
| This watch | Closely matched |
|
Your new watch
Frequently asked questions, and things you should know about this watch
Can I swim with it?
Showering yes, swimming no. 50m covers splashes and brief immersion, but a swimming stroke generates well above the pressure that figure describes.
Water resistance explainedWill the glass scratch?
Unlikely. Sapphire is second only to diamond in hardness and shrugs off everyday marking.
Sapphire, mineral and acrylic comparedDoes it need a battery?
No. It is automatic — the motion of your wrist winds it, and there is no cell to replace.
Quartz, automatic and solar comparedHow long does it run for when it's not worn?
About 38 hours fully wound — so it will usually stop if you leave it off overnight.
Is it a men's or women's watch?
Listed as men's, though at 40mm it sits in the range that suits anyone.
Cheapest place to buy
Goldsmiths is the only UK retailer we track stocking this reference, so there is nothing to compare it against today.
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