ORIS Aquis Small Second DATE

At the beginning of the year, Oris announced their next-gen Aquis introducing a collection of time and date models. Now, Oris has extended the series by adding a small seconds version to it.



The benefit of placing a sub-seconds at 9 o’clock on the dial is that it isolates the watch’s minute hand, which for a diver is the most important hand as it used for reading dive-time.

During a dive, divers lineup the minute hand with the minute scale on the watch’s unidirectional rotational divers bezel, which allows them to safely keep track of remaining dive.



Oris works closely with the diving community and developed a movement with a sub-seconds at 9 o’clock in-house in response to its feedback.

The new Aquis Small Second, Date model of course has the same stylish redesign introduced to the Aquis line this year. Oris’s designers have made the horns and bracelet thinner, giving the case a slightly sleeker profile.



The hands and hour-markers are now bolder and sharper; also the screw-down security crown and crown protectors have been tapered so that they sit more elegantly with the watch’s new silhouette. The ‘Aquis’ name is also now proudly printed on the dial.



Oris has also engineered a slight gap between the case and the bezel, so that the bezel is now easier to grip and adjust. The Aquis Small Second, Date has a unidirectional rotating bezel with a scratch- and fade-resistant ceramic inlay and water-resistance to 500 meters.



At the moment, there are two versions of the Aquis Small Second, Date available. The blue dial version comes on a blue or black rubber strap or a Stainless steel bracelet with the Oris-developed safety anchor and quick-adjust, sliding-sledge folding clasp, which can be extended or tightened without needing to take the watch off.



The same features come on the black and orange version of the watch, which has a black rubber strap and orange SuperLumiNova luminescent detailing on the hands and hour markers.



Orange is one of the most visible colors underwater and a natural pairing with a diver’s watch. I must admit as much as I’m loving the current trend for blue dials – you can’t beat orange on black. Which do you prefer?