On Target: The Return of the Oris Big Crown Pointer Date “Bullseye”

The watches from Oris have always carried an essence of a singular, free-thinking elan, not just in terms of movement design (check out the recent debut of the “slow hand” weekly calendar function of the Oris Year of the Fire Horse Limited Edition), but also in terms of dial design and real estate.

The Big Crown Pointer Date was first introduced in 1938 and was intended as a highly legible watch for pilots. However, it also made a disruptive statement with its distinctive large crown, large numerals, and unique V-tipped date-pointer hand with an outer date ring on the dial.
 

Gauging and circles-within-circles have largely defined this timepiece’s look, but, in this Big Crown Pointer Date released today, the team at Oris have added a new layer of eye-appeal, utilizing a stunning design first seen on Oris pocket watches from the turn of the 20^th century: A bullseye-like series of circles made up of an outer red date ring, a railroad-track minute gauge, a boldly black circle of large Arabic numerals, and a clean, grey center circle from which the hour, minute, seconds, and date-pointer hands radiate.

Let’s take a look.

The term “bullseye” dates back to medieval times, when archers used real bull’s skulls as practice targets, scoring a bullseye by shooting an arrow directly into the skull’s eye socket. Since then, the bullseye has also found its way into the friendly game of darts at your local pub, has appeared on the painted liveries of the fabled RAF Spitfire fighter planes during WWII, and has been adopted by British designer Ben Sherman in his “mod” era fashions.
 

“This style first appeared in an Oris (wrist) watch in the 1920s, and was very popular during a period spanning the 1940s to the 1970s. I’d always liked it, and so we returned to it…as sometimes happens, designs are lost to time,” commented Oris Chairman Ulrich W. Herzog, who has been with the watchmaker since 1978.

He continued: “The last one we made was in 1998, and when we stumbled across it recently, we were reminded of how strong it is. It’s great to see it back.” In fact, the previous multi-circular approach has proven so popular that the “Bullseye” nomenclature originated as an unofficial nickname among Oris collectors.

The 38mm multi-piece steel case, of course, carries the oversized crown it is named for, and a fluted, coin-edge bezel amplifies the knurled design language. The 41-hour power reserve automatic Oris Calibre 754 overseas your dart match, and an exhibition caseback gives you a nice movement view.
 

Lume adorns the four hands, from the sculpted tip of the hour marker to the crimson indicator at the end of the date-pointer hand. Rated to 5 bars of water resistance, the timepiece’s deep-black Cervo Volante deer leather strap adds an additional level of appeal to the Oris Big Crown Pointer Date “Bullseye,” which retails for CHF 1,950.
 

For more information, check out the Oris website.