#ORIS CALIBRE 400 MOVEMENT MANUAL#

Working with Laboratoire Dubois (the same organisation that conducts the Chronofiable tests for wear and tear), they determined that the incorporation of these components enables the movement to better withstand magnetic fields. In their quest for reliability, Oris incorporated a silicon anchor and escape wheel, as well as around 30 other components made out of non-ferrous and non-magnetic materials to ensure that the movement is unperturbed by magnetism.

In today’s world, we are surrounded by electronics and magnetic fields, and these environments can pose hazardous to the traditional mechanical watch by magnetising critical components within the movement and cause it to run fast. This reduces the part count of the automatic winding system, and in turn, increases reliability of the movement as a whole. Oris eliminated the use of the traditional ball-bearing system, and instead uses a slide-bearing system that winds in one direction. An increased amount of power reserve also needs a method of winding, and Oris also turned its attention to improving the reliability of the automatic winding system. Even if you take this watch off for the weekend and put it back on your wrist on Monday, it will still be running, with plenty of power to spare. As Beat Fischli, Chief Operating Officer of Oris stated “Three days is normal, but we wanted to do better” – and indeed they did. However, Oris has recognised this as an issue for their customers and incorporated a twin-barrel construction housing two extended mainsprings delivering a five-day power reserve. This is not to say that they are inferior movements – far from it (their reliability, sturdiness and serviceability lends themselves to being so heavily utilised in the industry). Most watch owners complain of their watches running out of power after around the two-day mark, and frankly, most watches at the $5000 dollar price mark will be affected by this problem as they are often equipped with ETA or Sellita base movements. With the new Calibre 400, Oris brings their ingenuity to a wider audience for everyday wear, as well as serious watchmaking value to the table.

#ORIS CALIBRE 400 MOVEMENT MANUAL#

The watches that were part of the Artelier and ProPilot line, however, did feature a sense of niche appeal with their larger sizing and manual winding movements. These movements incorporated long power reserves in these movements, and then building complications on top of a solid base movement.

Oris has been making strides with its in-house movements of late with the likes of the Calibre 110 and its descendants. Whether you are dipping your toes in the universe of horology, or you now live and breathe movements, movement design, case construction and dial finishes, it is good to know that the Oris Aquis Date Calibre 400 has something for all lovers of watchmaking. Rightfully so, as the hardy nature of the Aquis design matches the ingenuity of the new calibre that introduces new standards of construction, testing and reliability for the brand – all for a price that is incredibly reasonable (relatively speaking) in the world of watches. Of all the watch models that Oris could have chosen to introduce the new Calibre 400 movement in, they chose to house it in the rugged case of the Aquis – an Oris model synonymous with toughness and reliability in everyday use.

Oris calibre 400 movement