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Oris Makes a Strong Case that Orange Is the New Black for Classic Watch Dials

Oris proves that leather watch straps can be ethical and sustainable.

Close-up of a wristwatch with an orange dial, silver case, fluted bezel, and brown leather strap with white stitching.Oris
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By Brad Lanphear

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Typically reserved for divers and other sporty tool watches, Oris’ newest Big Crown Pointer Date demonstrates that an orange dial can be elegant and refined.

The gradient dial starts with a “burnt sunset orange” center and transitions to a caramel orange periphery. It is a timely release inspired by the Alpine autumn and feels remarkably in tune with the classic pilot’s watch’s cathedral hands and fluted bezel.

Stainless steel Oris Big Crown Automatic watch with orange dial and brown leather strap.
The “burnt sunset orange” dial complements the classical Pointer Date dial surprisingly well.
Oris

However, as gorgeous as the dial looks, it is not the focal point of this intriguing Oris release. This collaboration with an entrepreneurial Swiss brand called Cervo Volante is all about the strap.

What might appear to be a boilerplate brown leather two-piece pin-buckle strap is actually a byproduct of a project supporting the preservation of Switzerland’s natural landscape.

In short, the straps are produced with deer hides, which would otherwise go to waste, that are tanned and manufactured by Cervo Volante. I’ll fill in the blanks below, but suffice it to say that it is about as sustainable a system as leather production can get.

Back of a stainless steel Oris watch with visible mechanical movement and brown leather strap embossed with a beetle.
Cervo Volabte produces the leather pin-buckle straps from recovered deer hides.
Oris

The deer leather, derived from European red deer, possesses a distinct grain that lends itself to the 1930s-inspired vintage look of the Big Crown Pointer Date.

An autumnal Alpine dial

In Switzerland, just as in America, orange is the color of fall.

The vibrant color chosen for this year’s Cervo Volante collaboration is a stark departure from the light blue, green and gray dials used for the previous collaboration in 2022.

Oris Big Crown Automatic wristwatch with orange dial, white numerals, silver case, and brown leather strap.
Oris explains that the dial’s color is inspired by Alpine maple trees and autumn sunsets.
Oris

Oris explains that inspiration was taken from the maple trees decorating the Swiss countryside. The country’s native species, confusingly called the Norway Maple, has a rich burgundy color close to that on the dial’s outer rim.

The dial’s center color is “burnt sunset orange,” conveying the other source of inspiration as the long, slow burn of autumn sunsets at Hölstein’s high altitude.

The gradient of the dial emulates a patina, enhancing the vintage allure of the Big Crown Pointer Date’s cathedral hands, railroad minute track and fluted bezel.

Close-up of an Oris Big Crown Automatic watch with an orange dial, white numerals, and a brown leather strap.
The gradient of the burnt orange dial creates a patina effect that matches the vintage-inspired dial.
Oris

Oris’s Pointer Date complication, introduced in 1938, is inherently retro because it is rarely seen in the twenty-first century. The date is indicated by what I call the shuffleboard hand moving along a 31-day track on the dial’s outer edge.

The four central hands are controlled by an Oris caliber 754 automatic movement beating at 4Hz with a 41-hour power reserve.

A natural bounty

Oris proclaims Cervo Volante as one of the brand’s “most valued partners,” citing a shared commitment to sustainability. The Swiss organization was founded in 2017 to make productive use of the approximately 15,000 deer hides produced from culling Switzerland’s abundant population.

Unfortunately, this process is necessary to preserve the balance of the Alpine ecosystem because the deer have few natural predators.

Stainless steel Oris Big Crown automatic watch with orange dial and brown leather strap on a textured white surface.
Cervo Volante only uses a vegetable tanning process on recovered deer hides.
Oris

Cervo Volante only uses a vegetable tanning process on recovered hides to produce a wide range of leather goods, which includes a special edition leather travel pouch provided with each watch.

The low-impact tanning process preserves the leather’s natural grain and imperfections, such as scarring on the animal’s hide, resulting in a unique texture for each strap. This amplifies the vintage feel without any fake aging techniques.

Availability and price

We don’t think of autumn watches as a category like summer watches, but this Oris x Cervo Volante Big Crown Pointed Date makes a strong case that we should. It is available now from Oris for $2,600.

A Cervo Volante travel pouch that matches the quick-release pin-buckle deer hide strap is provided with each watch.

While this is a special edition, Oris has not stated a limit on the production run, so it is readily available.

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.

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