The Oris Aquis Date Relief Pops Its Cherry… Again!
The Oris Aquis debuted barely over a decade ago. Thanks to its charming good looks and mass appeal, the dive collection has quickly blossomed into the Swiss independent watchmaker’s top performer. The Aquis has since spawned a myriad of executions. Last year, and not a moment too soon after entering its teens, this flagship diver popped its cherry. Having won many hearts, the Aquis Date Relief Cherry has grown in size, returning in a bigger and bolder 43.5mm build. For those who couldn’t get their hands on (or wrists in) it, now it’s your chance.
Who would have thought that a dive watch with a sunburst red dial would cause such a stir? Well, it did. It was fire. Rob knew it as he rushed out the cherry bomb here when it first dropped. Typically, creators of dive watches don’t tend to venture beyond the confines of the light spectrum for their color palettes. Blue, green, and yellow divers abound along with black, of course, for good reason.
The lip-licking color
Imagine going diving with a red-dial watch that loses its color beyond the depths of 5-10 meters. It happens because, thanks to Mother Nature, that is how visible light works underwater (for the uninitiated, this recent article will explain how such “simple” physics inspired a really cool depth-gauge dial.) Red is the first on the light spectrum to disappear, so you would essentially be wearing a muted-color watch at depth. Thus, it might as well come with a black dial, and black is an easy sell. The aforementioned creators know it, hence red divers are uncommon. A cherry one is even rarer. It is flirtatious without being dangerous (as in what the color denotes). And if you have maxed out on black divers, why not have some fun in shallow waters or while “desk diving”?
The all-metal vibe
Enter the Oris Aquis Date Relief Cherry. And just because it’s a looker doesn’t mean that it’s any less of a serious tool watch. The Aquis Date Relief is still an Aquis. It bears the hallmarks of the original three-hand-date model. This Aquis Date features a multi-part 43.5mm stainless steel case and an all-metal unidirectional bezel. Yes, even the bezel insert is in stainless steel, which is sandblasted and etched with a 60-minute dive scale in relief (hence the “Relief” model name). It hangs over the case and has deep grooves around the edge for an easy grip. I think that the metal-on-metal ‘90s industrial vibe brings some retro cool to the often-ceramic-bezeled lineup.
A tool watch
True to its diver form, the case is fitted with a screw-down crown protected by shoulder-like crown guards, helping to guarantee its 300m water resistance. The sunray dial features a delicious cherry-red hue with a date window at 6 o’clock. The stocky applied indexes and hands are polished and treated with oceanic blue Super-LumiNova. The same goes for the central sweeping seconds hand with a luminescent disc in the middle. The sapphire crystal that tops it all off is domed on both sides and treated with AR coating inside.
A solid package
Powering the Aquis Date Relief Cherry is an Oris-modified 733 caliber. This reliable Sellita SW200-based automatic movement ensures accurate timekeeping. It operates at 28,800vph (4Hz) and offers an adequate 38-hour power reserve. Through the case back, you can admire the views of the oscillation and the mechanism donning Oris’s trademark red rotor. To complete the all-metal look, the watch is paired with a three-link stainless steel bracelet. The links are brushed in the middle and polished on the sides. The folding clasp that secures the bracelet is constructed with Oris’s own extension system to adjust for extra length. The finishing and features of this watch certainly live up to the Aquis name and standards of quality.
As much as the Aquis Date Relief Cherry is built to be a worthy companion for a diver, I have a feeling that it may not see much of the ocean floor. I can, however, picture it frolicking with the lot of you out at sea on a boat or a yacht. You can add a touch of cherry-red hotness to your style with not a single care for a splash of water. All this fun comes in at €2,100.
For more information, visit Oris’s official website. Let us know what you think of this cherry-dial Aquis in the comments!
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