Oris – never a company to waste time on convention – has become well-known recently for a string of quirky special editions, often with a societal or environmental twist.
We had the New York harbour watch, promoting the repopulation of the harbour with native oysters, and also the Coulson Aviation watch, named after the company that fights forest fires with aircraft. Now we’ve got something that’s perhaps even more obscure in the form of the Dat Watt II Limited Edition.
ORIS, DAT WATT LIMITED EDITION - Credit Oris
Wat dat, you may ask? Well, this watch is inspired by the salt marshes of the Wadden Sea, known as ‘Dat Watt’ in local dialect: a UNESCO World Heritage site that also happens to be the world’s largest unbroken intertidal flats system. In fact, this ‘sea’ covers around 11,500 square kilometres in northern Europe, stretching 500 kilometres along the coasts of Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands.
The Wadden Sea - Credit Oris
And while not everyone has been to the Wadden Sea, now you don’t actually have to – as the graduated blue to green dial captures the character of the water’s changing colour perfectly. The watch named after it comes on a stainless steel bracelet or, more interestingly, on a turquoise rubber strap that underlines the marine theme in a way that’s surprisingly cohesive.
ORIS, DAT WATT LIMITED EDITION - Credit Oris
Oris has always put a big emphasis on sustainability, so it’s no surprise to learn that the Wadden Sea is home to around 10,000 species of flora and fauna. There are only 2009 pieces being made of this watch though, which signifies the year in which the Wadden Sea was awarded World Heritage status. And Oris fans will note that this is of course the Dat Watt II, as there has already been a previous collaboration to benefits the conservation society looking after the salt flats.
ORIS, DAT WATT LIMITED EDITION - Credit Oris
The rest will appear reassuringly familiar to all fans of the Oris Aquis, particularly in green or blue, but an addition is the small seconds complication at nine o’clock. There’s the Oris 743 movement within (based on a Sellita) that gives 38 hours of power. Like the Aquis, it comes in at a hefty 43.5 millimetres, which should make it somewhat unwieldy but most Oris watches have a clever knack of not appearing oversized, even if the dimensions are eyebrow-raising. It’s going to be interesting to see for ourselves if this is still the case with the latest limited edition. It’s on sale for £2550, so competitively priced for a watch that certainly stands out from the crowd, and you’ll be contributing to an intriguing environmental cause. At first glance, what’s there not to like.
ORIS, DAT WATT LIMITED EDITION - Credit Oris
