News: Oris Altimeter Rega Limited Edition
Watches have always played a big part not only in adventure and exploration, but also in one of the more unfortunate possible outcomes of those pursuits—emergency rescue. Breitling, for example, released a whole line of watches dedicated to aiding stranded pilots with its Emergency series, and even Apple watches feature an SOS beacon feature.
With the Altimeter Rega Limited Edition, Oris adds its own contribution to the world of emergency rescue. This watch is dedicated to Rega, Switzerland’s air rescue service, and as such, it has some tough criteria to live up to. Established in 1952, Rega operates in the most extreme of terrains, conducting mountain rescues and assisting in major emergencies.
Oris took inspiration for the watch from the tools that every pilot needs to do their job—specifically, the altimeter. The Oris Big Crown ProPilot Altimeter, released in 2014, was in fact the first automatic watch to feature a built-in mechanical altimeter—and this limited edition is an evolution of that piece. The watch uses an aneroid barometer (set by a second crown at 4 o’clock) to measure the surrounding air pressure, which is then translated to show altitude on the scale around the edge of the dial. The in-house calibre 733 also features a date function and regular time, as well as a power reserve of 38 hours.
The watch’s design is an homage to the rescue team that it honours, with the Rega red cross logo sitting at 9 o’clock, and an engraving on the caseback of one of the team’s helicopters. Highly legible indices are picked out in SuperLumiNova, and the case has a smart, utilitarian look in gunmetal grey stainless steel with a knurled bezel. Only 1,414 pieces of the Oris Altimeter Rega Limited Edition will be released, and it is currently listed as costing 3,950CHF.
