Plenty of brands have tried to claim a piece of the ongoing bronze case trend, but few have left their mark on the movement as convincingly as Oris. From the bronze-cased Divers Sixty-Five and the limited edition Carl Brashear Chronograph, to this year’s Big Crown Pointer Date Bronze in a 36-millimeter case, the Swiss marque has a solid claim on the gold medal for bronze watches. Their latest effort in this line, however, just may be their best yet.

As the name suggests, the new Big Crown Pointer Date 80th Anniversary Edition commemorates a lineage of Big Crown Pointer Dates dating back to 1938 by combining the best of a handful of recent models (though the Big Crown Pointer Date has seen periods of absence from Oris’ catalog over the years, by and large the model has been a cornerstone of the brand). While a casual look at this new piece may cause one to mistake it for the bronze 36-millimeter model launched earlier this year, with the trademark light Arabic numerals, cathedral hands and fluted bezel all present, there’s more than just the larger 40-millimeter diameter to tell these two apart.
While the dial was more of a pastel green on the 36-millimeter Pointer Date Bronze, the dial on display here is richer and darker, almost a forest or hunter green (this is a dial color shared with the D.26 286 HB-RAG Limited Edition). This new color offers a much more vibrant contrast against the warm tones of the bronze case, and it’s set off even more by the addition of a red tip to the date pointer. It’s certainly a less reserved, bolder combination, but one that still feels timeless and classic.
