Returning to the deep with their brand new, 1000m, Dive Control Limited Edition ProDiver, Oris have once again made a mega dive watch for commercial divers. Yes, that’s right not just a watch for posing with over a latte but a beast of watch for keeping you safe in one of the most hazardous industries that there are.
The Dive Control has a 51mm case cast in lightweight Grade 2 Titanium which has been coated in highly scratch-resistant black DLC.
It features Oris’s patented Rotation Safety System, or RSS, a signature Oris device that securely locks the unidirectional rotational bezel in place when diving. The new watch also features a 60min. chronograph counter at 12 o’clock, with highly legible yellow accents. Only 500 will be made!
The watch was developed in partnership with Swiss commercial diver, Roman Frischknecht whose career has been spent deep underwater working in the subsea industry. Roman had previously co-developed the patented Rotation Safety System, or RSS, an Oris signature safety-feature found on all ProDivers, designed to lock the bezel in place during a dive.
The Dive Control watch has a number of features above and beyond that of a standard diver’s watch. Firstly, it has an oversized 51 mm case that’s cast in lightweight, black DLC-coated Grade 2 Titanium and that’s water-resistant to 1000 meters.
In testing, Oris’s engineers actually pressure tested the Dive Control Limited Edition to an astonishing 125 bar to ensure it would perform in the most demanding conditions.
To increase legibility, the dial is also oversized. The bezel, complete with the RSS system, has a scratch and fade-resistant ceramic top ring. The hands, hour markers and 12hr marker on the bezel are all filled with SuperLumiNova.
Oris’s designers have used high-contrast yellow details to indicate critical information because yellow is one of the most visible colors underwater.
It also has an automatic Helium Escape Valve, in this instance not a superfluous feature for looking cool, but a device useful to Roman and his colleagues who live in a Helium-rich atmosphere during a saturation dive.
We know very well why HEVs are used but in case you’re late to the party, Helium atoms are smaller than atoms of oxygen and can enter a watch. Without the escape valve to release these particles, they could damage the watch once the diver reaches regular air pressure again.
“In the companies I work for, safety standards are high and the equipment very reliable. Commercial diving has become one of the most safety conscious professions in the world,” says Roman Frischknecht.
That might be difficult for most of us to comprehend who work on terra firma, but when it comes to his work, Roman doesn’t deal in half-certainties. The safety of each member of the diving team is paramount. Their equipment is state-of-the-art, designed to keep them safe in extreme conditions and maintained regularly to ensure performs reliably.
Roman applied the same rigor to the development of the Oris ProDiver’s signature feature, the Rotation Safety System. Oris worked with Roman during two years of development to deliver a unidirectional rotating bezel that can be locked securely into place during a dive.
So critical is time measurement and management in every aspect of diving, that there is no room for error. By locking a bezel in place, he can be sure of exactly how much time he has left on his dive.
Oris has patented this innovation and the Oris ProDiver is the only watch in the world to carry the function. ‘A unidirectional rotating bezel is a great tool, but if it doesn’t move once it’s fixed, it gives a diver extra peace of mind when timing a dive’, explains Roman.
In addition, the watch’s Swiss Made automatic chronograph movement gives it central seconds, 30-minute and 12-hour chronograph hands. The 30-minute chronograph hand has a yellow counterbalance that reads off against a yellow scale, extending it to a full 60-minute display. This way reading as well as calculation errors can be avoided and safety thus increases. For a professional diver, this is exactly what comes first.
1. Activating RSS Hold the bezel’s black vulcanized rubber edge and then lift it. This will release the RSS’s lock and the bezel’s black ceramic minutes scale top ring. When activated, a yellow ring will appear around the edge of the top ring.
2. Setting the timer With the yellow ring now visible, turn the top ring anti-clockwise and align the number on it that corresponds to your allocated dive time with the watch’s minutes hand.
3. Securing the time Once in place, push the top ring down until it clicks into position. The timer scale is now secure and you are ready to begin your dive.
The new Dive Control Limited Edition Ref. No. 01 774 7727 7784 Set is Limited to 500 pieces. It comes on a black rubber diver’s strap with a Titanium black DLC plated folding clasp and a quick-adjust extension system, all delivered in a waterproof presentation box, along with an additional yellow rubber strap and some professional strap changing tools.
It is available as of January 2019 with a Swiss MSRP of 4850CHF.
Thoughts? This is a special watch indeed – in all honesty it is going to be way more watch than most of need or could handle but if you are working in the offshore industry or you like your watches big and purposeful, this is going to be a good fit. ;)
That's hot! Gotta have it!
ReplyDelete