Oris Partners with Wings of Hope on a Pair of New Limited Editions

The latest project in the long running Change for the Better campaign has been revealed by Oris and their new partner, Wings of Hope. Change for the Better will be familiar to many readers of Worn & Wound, as it’s foundational to many major Oris releases from the past several years. It’s the brand’s mission to highlight worthy organizations that promote positive change in the world and do great things in their communities, and the partnerships frequently result in limited edition watches that tie their design to the work of the organization. If you haven’t already, be sure to check out our roundup of Oris’s great Change for the Better releases and partnerships that we rolled out for the tenth anniversary of the campaign – it will give you a great sense for what it’s all about. 

Before we get to the new watches, a little bit about what Wings of Hope is all about. Wings of Hope is a 60 year old aeronautical humanitarian organization. They operate in upwards of 50 countries (but are based in the United States) with a mission of using aviation to bring vital medical and humanitarian support to hard to reach communities. In addition to traveling to these communities by air with much needed medical supplies, Wings of Hope is also involved in training new pilots and engineers to work in humanitarian aviation. Last year, 90 students entered their “Soar into STEM” program, ensuring that the organization’s global outreach can continue with the next generation of young pilots. 

To usher in their new partnership, Oris and Wings of Hope have collaborated on a pair of Big Crown pilot’s watches. Oris, of course, has a long history of making pilot’s watches, and for this release they’ve decided to go with a model that conjures an old-school world of aviation. The Big Crown is certainly a more traditional pilot’s watch than some of the more tech forward options in the large Oris catalog, but that feels like the right decision considering the long history of Wings of Hope. 

The first watch is a stainless steel example of the Big Crown in a 40mm case. The dial is a off-white and the numerals and hands have a light green tone. It’s a simple and elegant execution of the Big Crown that could easily pull tool watch duty if it needed to, or be worn daily for more casual tasks. It’s a limited edition of 1,000 pieces. 

The second watch is something for the more serious collector – an 18-carat yellow gold version of the Big Crown in a smaller 38mm case, limited to just 100 pieces. The dial here is the same color but the hands and numerals have been rendered in a gold tone to match the case. We’ve seen Oris start to experiment a bit more with gold in the last few years, and the mere fact that they continue to put these watches on the release calendar would indicate they’re getting a positive response. They certainly offer something special for the most dedicated Oris collectors. 

Both watches are powered by the Caliber 401 movement. This is a movement in Oris’s new family of in-house calibers and is impressively specced with tolerances within COSC’s range, a 120 hour power reserve, and anti-magnetic qualities. Most impressively, these movements have a full 10 year warranty and a 10 year recommended service interval. 

Both of the new Big Crowns are available today through Oris channels. The stainless steel version has a retail price of $3,700 and will ship in October, and the gold watch has a retail price of $17,000 and begins delivery this month. More information can be found at the Oris website.