Oris Debuts their Latest Watch to Benefit the Coral Restoration Foundation

The deep commitment that Oris has to environmental causes is by now well understood. For the last several years they have stepped up the output of new releases that are tied to conservation in one way or another, with special attention paid to all things related to the world’s oceans. Their newest watch to champion such a cause is actually the third Oris to be released to support the Coral Restoration Foundation. It’s a familiar design, and a familiar beneficiary, but I don’t think anyone would criticize Oris for repeating themselves when the watch is this well executed and the spirit behind it so genuine. Let’s take a look at the new Carysfort Reef Limited Edition.

Oris Carysfort Reef Limited Edition

• Case Material: Stainless steel
• Dial: Blue 
• Dimensions: 43.5mm
• Crystal: Sapphire        
• Water Resistance: 300 meters
• Crown: Screw down                       
• Movement: Oris 798 
• Strap/bracelet: Stainless steel, natural rubber
• Price: $3,000 on bracelet, $2,800 on rubber
• Reference Number: 798 7754 4185-Set RS
• Expected Release: Available now 

This is actually the second watch Oris has released to benefit the Carysfort Reef just this year – Ed had a chance to get a look at the solid gold version of this GMT back in January. This edition, in stainless steel, is clearly more consumer focused, but still limited to 2,000 examples worldwide. As with previous releases, this watch is meant to raise funds and awareness for the Coral Restoration Foundation, which has developed reef restoration methods that have been widely adopted all over the world. Coral reefs are constantly in danger due to the widespread pollution of our oceans, and their continued destruction poses a real threat to marine wildlife: coral reefs support at least 25% of all fish species, and are viewed by many as the most endangered ecosystem on the planet.

The Carysfort Reef Limited Edition seen here uses the Aquis platform as a starting point, and adds several details both large and small to make it something special. Obviously, unlike the basic Aquis, this is a GMT, and capable of tracking up to three time zones with the use of the rotating 24 hour bezel. As with other Oris limited editions that support conservation efforts, the dial is a radiant blue, and has a gradient effect. The dial’s inner 24 hour scale has orange highlights, which match the orange strap that the watch is available on (it can also be had on the excellent Aquis bracelet). The caseback features an engraving of a representation of a coral reef, and includes the watch’s number out of 2,000.

The Aquis comes in three sizes, and this is the largest at 43.5mm in diameter (other watches in the Aquis family are sized at 39mm and 41.5mm). While this isn’t a watch for the very small wristed, I’ve always found that the Aquis wears well and is more forgiving than the average large watch, likely because of integrated strap/bracelet design and relatively short lugs. Also, a larger dial tends to benefit a watch like this, that uses concentric circles to implement a complication. This layout on a smaller dial would likely appear very crowded, maybe to the point of being hard to read. Here, everything looks rather well proportioned to my eye. 

The new Carysfort Reef Limited Edition is available now through the Oris retail network, and their website. Pricing on the watch is $3,000 on the bracelet, and $2,800 on the orange strap. Oris