A Tool Watch This Wonderfully Overbuilt Shouldn’t Look Nearly This Good

In space, no one can hear your watch tick.

Close-up of an Oris ProPilot Altimeter watch face with a black dial, bright yellow numerals, and green luminous markers. The watch features a black textured bezel with yellow altitude markings in feet, and a black woven strap. The crown has red accents and markings. The background is a gradient green.

Published 22 hours ago

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When Bamford Watch Department founder George Bamford approached Oris CEO Rolf Studer about collaborating on a ProPilot Altimeter, he already had a detailed vision.

Studer enthusiastically accepted, and Bamford drew up a watch that embodied the adventurous spirit of both brands through the lens of some classic sci-fi films.

Black Oris ProPilot Altimeter watch with a black fabric strap, featuring a black dial with yellow and green markings, luminous hands, and a date window at 3 o'clock, set against a green gradient background. — The ProPilot Altimeter ‘Mission Control’ gives the mechanical dial a retro-futuristic astronautical look.

The ProPilot Altimeter already stood out as the world’s only automatic watch with a mechanical altimeter. Bamford’s revamp gives the unique pilot’s watch an eye-catching retro-futuristic look worthy of its singular status.

In the simplest terms, this sci-fi-worthy watch is the same 47mm carbon fiber ProPilot Altimeter released in 2023, touched up with a vibrant, lume-soaked paint job.

But the enhanced color treatment shifts the vibe from modern mil-spec to 1980s sci-fi epic; less Top Gun: Maverick and more Blade Runner.

Wristwatch with a black dial and green-yellow accents, featuring a black fabric strap, worn on a hand against a green background. The watch has two crowns and a detailed bezel with numeric markings. — The ProPilot Altimeter ‘Mission Control’ has a 47mm carbon fiber case.

The single-piece case is made of a carbon fiber composite developed specifically for Oris by 9T Labs, a Zurich-based engineering firm specializing in advanced aeronautical and automotive materials.

Carbon fiber is also used on the dial, while the caseback and twin crowns are PVD-coated titanium, creating a uniform deep space black background for the neon dial details.

My God, it’s full of lume

In a press release, Bamford explains, “We’re taking [the ProPilot Altimeter] on a space odyssey with Lieutenant Audley, Kubrick-style,” referring to the 1969 film 2001. For a more contemporary audience, the watch looks like a prop from the FX series Alien: Earth.

Black Oris ProPilot Altimeter wristwatch with yellow and green markings on the dial, featuring a black textured strap with yellow stitching on the inner side, displayed against a green background with a yellow geometric structure. — The ProPilot Altimeter ‘Mission Control’ uses yellow, green and red lume to emulate a glowing instrument panel.

Green and yellow are still the key reference colors for the altimeter, located around the dial’s outer rim. The red indicators calibrate the instrument before use, and the outermost neon yellow scale tracks altitude up to 19,700 feet.

The mechanical altimeter complication actually measures air pressure, which is converted to feet on the dial. A neon green air pressure track runs inside the altitude track.

The underside of the woven two-piece strap is lined with yellow and green fine-grain leather.

Oris

The formerly white printed Arabic numeral hour markers, minutes track and hands now match the neon yellow and green color scheme. While the two colors differentiate measurements on the altimeter, they merely create contrast on the time dial.

All colored elements on the dial are coated in Super-LumiNova, which creates the impression of a space-age instrument when illuminated in the dark.

Cleared for launch

The mechanical altimeter is activated and calibrated with the crown at four o’clock, conveniently labeled “ALT/SET.” When it is screwed in, ensuring the case’s 100m water resistance, the altimeter is deactivated.

Side view of a black textured watch case with two knurled crowns; one crown is labeled "ALT SET" in red, and the other is labeled "ORIS." The watch strap is black with a woven texture and has a yellow underside. — The ProPilot altimeter is controlled by the crown at four o’clock.

Unscrewing the lower crown and pulling it out to the first position activates the altimeter, which is indicated by the exposed red ring. However, before it can be used, it has to be calibrated by pulling the crown to the second position.

1. Neutral mode (Crown position 0): When the crowns are screwed in, the ProPilot Altimeter 'Mission Control' functions as a regular automatic watch. Time is displayed by the hands on the central dial, adjusted by the crown at 2 o'clock. The watch is water-resistant to 10 bar (100 m). 2. Activating the altimeter (Crown position 1): Unscrew the crown at 4 o'clock to position 1. A red ring appears, indicating the altimeter is active. 3. Setting the altimeter (Crown position 2): Pull the crown out to position 2 and rotate it to align the reference air pressure (from an airport control tower, for example) with the red triangle at 6 o'clock on the central dial. The watch then shows current altitude (yellow indicator) and absolute air pressure (red indicator). A patented Oris altimeter-adjustment and venting crown with a PTFE vapor barrier prevents ambient moisture from entering. 4. Measuring altitude (Crown position 1): After setting, push the crown back to position 1. Altitude changes are shown by the yellow indicator on the outer dial ring, scaled from 0 to 19,700 feet. The altimeter hand is made from lightweight laminated carbon fiber. To deactivate and return to neutral, screw the crown back to position 0, resealing the watch for water resistance to 10 bar (100 m). — Instructions for using the ProPilot’s mechanical altimeter.

Once in the second position, the base air pressure must be established by rotating the appropriate reading on the inner ring to align the red reference arrow below six o’clock.

A base air pressure must be obtained from an outside source, such as an air traffic control tower or specialized instrument.

The completely unique movement powering the ProPilot Altimiter ‘Mission Control’ is the Oris caliber 793, which also has a date complication and a 56-hour power reserve.

Black Oris x Bamford ProPilot Altimeter watch with a textured black strap, featuring a black dial with yellow and green markings, luminous hands, a date window at 3 o'clock, and a knurled bezel and crown marked "ALT SET" in red. — When the altimeter is deactivated, the ProPilot Altimeter ‘Mission Control’ is a simple time-and-date automatic watch.

Oris designed the ProPilot Altimeter simply because it could. It is superfluous for any pilot outside of a disastrous situation, but it is fun to have on your wrist.

This Bamford Watch Department sci-fi revamp elevates the fun exponentially by creating the appearance of a fully functional movie prop.

Availability and price

The Oris x Bamford Watch Department ProPilot ‘Mission Control’ is available now from Oris for $8,100.

It is a limited edition of 250 units, with each watch numbered on the caseback.

Black Oris wristwatch with a textured black strap and yellow inner lining. The watch face features yellow and green markings, with large yellow Arabic numerals at 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12 o'clock. The hands are white with green accents. The dial includes a date window at 3 o'clock and various altitude and air pressure measurements in yellow and green around the outer edge. The watch has two crowns on the right side and one on the top left.

Oris x Bamford ProPilot Altimeter ‘Mission Control’

Specs

Case Size	47mm
Movement	Oris caliber 793 automatic
Water Resistance	100m

$8,100 at Oris

About the Author: Brad Lanphear is an associate editor at Gear Patrol covering watches and style. Before joining the publication, he previously wrote for Heddels and Men’s Health. Now, he’s on a never-ending quest to find the perfect pair of Japanese denim.