The Beguiling Bullseye An Opportune Oris Original
#Oris #The Beguiling Bulleye
Outstanding design
The "Bullseye" dial, with its alternating gray and black circles, creates depth and a unique retro style.
The date indicator, featuring a prominent red tip, is the most distinctive characteristic that gives it the "Bullseye" name among collectors.
Its 38mm steel case, classic fluted bezel, and large, easy-to-operate crown surround the watch.
The durable black Cervo Volante leather strap features a quick-change function for versatile styling.
Movement & Functions
Oris Calibre 754 automatic with a distinctive red rotor and 41-hour power reserve.
Hour-minute-second function, along with a refined, easy-to-read central date hand.
Water resistant to 50 m, suitable for everyday use — not intended for deep water activities.
Wrist check, I am wearing the SRPC44,
a gold-plated turtle from 2017
on a Strapcode Jubilee-style bracelet.
Just a fun, affordable piece.
But today, I'd like to talk about
a recent release from Oris.
This is the Big Crown Pointer Date Bullseye.
This was just announced in January of 2026,
and I fortunately got hands-on with this model
as soon as it was unveiled in Vail, Colorado.
I got to hear from the co-CEO of Oris
as he talked about the history,
the significance of this particular piece,
and again, got to film the watch at a ranch in Colorado,
which was super fun.
So I'll drop in some of the videos,
some of the shots that I took out there
with other members of the press
or other watch content creators.
And specifically, let's talk about this recent release.
This was my personal favorite
out of the recent announcements
that have come from this independent Swiss brand, Oris.
The Big Crown Pointer Date is kind of their signature watch.
They have been continuously producing
a pointer date complication in some form since 1938,
so almost 90 years of making this complication.
And it's not a very common complication.
So I think one could accurately say
that this is kind of the signature.
If you had to pick one complication
that a brand is known for,
Oris, I think, would be the pointer date complication.
Now, Oris went into their back catalog.
They were looking at older references
that they've released in decades past,
and they discovered back in 1918,
they did a bullseye color scheme watch.
And so the designers at Oris,
they took the concept of that 1918 watch,
they placed it in their icon platform,
the Big Crown Pointer Date,
and the result is a very clean, very organized,
and I think very exciting retro-inspired design
that hits all of the right notes
when it comes to throwback elements,
but it still feels like a capable watch, a tough watch.
It looks like a vintage piece,
but it doesn't wear necessarily like a vintage watch.
This case comes in at 38 millimeters in diameter.
It's crafted out of stainless steel.
You'll notice a fluted bezel, an over-large crown.
That's where this watch gets its name, the Big Crown.
The crown is a great size for a smaller 38-millimeter watch.
And then this comes on a black leather strap.
There is a silver gray dial base
with just the faintest hint of a texture to it
and a level of reflectivity.
It's a great plane to build upon.
And Oris did that with a raised black ring
that's inky black, and this is the base
for the dimensional large Arabic markers
that are printed in white.
You'll notice the branding, the model name,
that's done in black.
And then going outside of this area,
you'll see a railroad index track.
That's done with keystone-shaped hour hashes.
And then outside of the railroad track,
you'll notice the days of the month printed in red.
And when Oris prints that in red,
you really don't notice it from arm's length.
It kind of blends a little bit better into the background.
And I think it just looks sharp,
especially with that pointer date crescent tip
being done in the same red color.
Not to mention the fact that Oris,
they're kind of unofficially known
as the company that does red rotors.
So the color red is associated with this brand.
And you'll see that red printed also
on the rotor of the Selita-based 754-1 caliber
inside the case.
And why use red, especially on the rotor?
That's maybe an odd choice to somebody
that's unfamiliar with the brand.
Well, the reasoning comes down to this.
Anytime Oris does a display case back
and they placed a Selita-based movement,
not an in-house-based movement,
but a Selita-based movement,
they place red on the rotor
because the movement is essentially
the heartbeat of the watch.
You can look at it.
You can see the balance oscillating.
You can see life essentially take place mechanically.
You can see movement.
And so red is symbolic of blood
because the movement's the heartbeat of the watch.
And so that's why they use red.
And I like the fact that you see a small amount of red
on the dial side.
And that's complemented with the white, the black,
and then that silvery gray base color.
The watch is not overly powerful.
You don't notice it because of its high contrast
or anything like that.
It's more subtle.
It feels refined.
And if you enjoy retro-inspired or vintage-inspired watches,
this one's gonna be right up your alley
because I just love how clean and classy
and organized and symmetrical this watch is.
This really is symbolic of what AORUS does so well
as a brand.
Other aspects about the watch,
this has a double-domed sapphire crystal
with inner-applied anti-reflective coatings.
Now, the shape of the crystal,
obviously it's domed on the top,
it's domed on the underside,
but the ARC is only on the inside.
So you don't have to worry about scratching a coating
on the top of the crystal.
And I think that it does a decent job
at minimizing reflections, at enhancing clarity,
but it's not going to eliminate reflections,
especially if you're outside a natural light,
you will see reflections on this crystal.
But fortunately, they're not overpowering
and I don't consider this a deal breaker.
Now, there's a decorative rounded coin edge bezel
and that adds some more visual interest.
That's another retro element.
And that's the thing that I appreciate with AORUS.
They do a great job of bringing vintage design cues
into their contemporary watches.
They celebrate the past without being stuck in the past.
And at the same time,
they offer very contemporary designs
with bold colors or materials or textures.
They're doing in-house movements.
They really offer, I think,
quite a bit to us watch collectors
and that's why they're such an approachable brand.
Now, this watch has a two-year warranty
and the full retail price is $2,350.
That's in line with other big crown pointer date models
within the brand catalog, a little bit larger in size
and also in this 38 millimeters.
Now, lastly, what would I like to see changed
about this watch?
Very little.
I really like this one.
I think this is a strong design,
a strong execution.
Just speaking for my own personal watch tastes,
38 millimeters is on the small end
of what I can just comfortably pull off
that doesn't look too small on my wrists.
For reference, my wrists are 7.25 inches in circumference.
And so in the future,
I would love to see this watch done in 40 millimeter.
They make this case in 40 millimeter.
They do it obviously in 38.
I'd love to see a 40 millimeter option at some point.
That way I could also buy the compatible bracelet.
I think maybe it's a faux pas taking a modern bracelet
and putting it on a retro inspired design,
but I think that would be fun to do,
at least visually it would be very strong.
But let me know what you think.
I appreciate you taking the time to watch today.
Please let me know if you have any specific questions
and I hope to see you again in a future video.