This year at W&W Oris have revealed an upgrade of a watch released almost 10 years ago.
The ProPilot Altimeter was already special enough being the worlds first and only automatic mechanical watch with a mechanical altimeter, however the new ProPilot Altimeter has even more to offer its owner.
As we know from other models this year like the 473, Oris is on a mission to provide high functioning watches and this model is no exception. Oris describes the 2023 ProPilot Altimeter in three words, “Higher, slimmer, lighter” and we must agree. The most noticeable upgrade is the watch case, a single piece of carbon fibre with a grey PVD-plated titanium bezel and case back. The change from stainless steel to carbon and titanium makes the watch significantly lighter, now weighing in at 98 grams; this is 70 grams lighter than its stainless steel predecessor.
The case is 1mm slimmer due to the implementation of a thinner movement, the Oris Calibre 793 which gives the watch a 56 hour power reserve. Although the watch thickness has lost a millimeter the diameter remains at 47mm. Does this rule out the smaller wrist? That’s not a question we can answer unfortunately, although Oris’s product development engineer Richard Siegrist suggest “it’s still a substantial watch, but we’ve created a beautifully balanced tool that works even on a smaller wrist”. Only time will tell as the watch lands on wrists in the wild.
WatchGecko first observations:
Not only is the watch more usable in the field due to its lighter case, the altitude range has been increased from 4,500 meters to 6,000 meters. This is a watch that has made us, and I’m sure many others, think do we need an altimeter inside our watches? Is this a function that would be put to use often enough?
One member of WatchGecko does indeed casually use the altimeter function. However, this is via his Casio SGW 300H which can be obtained for less than £100. It’s useful in navigation, he claims.
The ProPilot Altimeter retails at £5,250. We think it’s fair to say that this watch will attract a certain type of enthusiast, the serious hiker, climber or engineer that can appreciate the workings of a watch that houses a mechanical altimeter! But it will never be used in the way we enjoy dial time zones or a 24hour function.
