Today on the wrist: Oris Aquis Date Caliber 400

Our in-house machinery is one of the most important milestones for watchmakers and shows real watchmaker skills. The Oris Caliber 400 is the brand’s first automatic drive and a very significant achievement for Oris. The movement offers an extremely tough package to the watch market, bringing familiar features from more expensive brands to a watch priced at 3,200 euros.

I think this Aquis model is attracting interest due to its good availability, five-day uptime, antimagnetism and ten-year warranty. Rarely is such a versatile watch model available, especially in this price range. These features also raise the question of how this compares to other Swiss brands offering a similar package in the price range of € 3-6 thousand.
Oris diver watches have always pleased my own preferences and especially the Aquis collection. In Aquis watches, the design is recognizable and original and it suitably differs from other diver replica watches, which I think too often resemble the Rolex Submariner, a model of diver watches.
The new Aquis is very similar in appearance to the previous version and the design is familiar from Oris. Both watch models have a blue dial, but in the new model, the stunning shade of blue is further accentuated by a congruent ceramic bezel. In the old model, the black circle did not bring out the blue of the painting so much.
Despite the slight changes in appearance, I can assure you that the new Aquis brings value for money. The features, reliability and warranty of the new machine bring substantial added value to the watch user and I believe that many watch enthusiasts will appreciate these factors – and I also believe that even if you don’t know about watches, the features are really useful in everyday life. Oris Aquis Date Caliber 400 pictured right.
In addition to the size of the case, one significant factor in the fit of the watch is the thickness of the case as well as the length of the lugs in the longitudinal direction (i.e., lug-to-lug). I was afraid the new machine model would bring too much thickness to the watch, and I was worried about the fit of the watch. However, the concern proved futile, as the dimensions of the Oris were considered and a clear fit was made. The thinness of the watch really surprised me and I was really happy to finally have a new in-house that isn’t too thick.
The case of the watch is machined from high quality steel and feels high quality on the wrist. The integrated lugs make the effect of attaching the watch seamlessly with the wristband. The downside to the lugs is that the use of accessory bracelets is impossible. The design of the lugs and watch case allows the large watch on paper (43.5 mm) to fit smaller in size and thus fit both a large and a small wrist.
A pull button with crown guards is a typical feature of a diver’s watch. The finish is guaranteed and especially the small screws on the pull button guards are to my mind. The open back cover reveals a wonderful new mechanism, which is great because most often in such waterproof watches the back cover is closed. The ceramic bell rotates in one direction and has 120-notch teeth. Looking more closely at the perimeter, the feeling is still high quality and the feel is good. The perimeter is also well focused, which is important in this Price Class watch.